CEO Incarcerated Due to Insufficient Supplement Recall

The CEO of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals faces an arrest warrant, and will be incarcerated until his company issues a full supplement recall for weight loss and erectile dysfunction supplements, due to an insufficient supplement recall.

Jared Wheat, 42, and his company have been under fire by the Federal Trade Commission for making false statements about the effectiveness of their dietary supplements, including two of the most popular types of supplements – weight loss and erectile dysfunction treatments. Wheat was hit with a $40 million penalty last September for failing to issue an effective supplement recall when the drugs were found to be ineffective and potentially dangerous.

In order to ensure that the company fully implements the insufficient supplement recall, US District Court Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr has ordered that Wheat turn himself in until the company complies with the supplement recall orders from last fall.

“…The court does not have any confidence that the defendants will pursue the recall to its fruition without coercion,” the judge wrote in the ruling, filed late Tuesday, September 2nd. “The defendants’ actions, and lack thereof, demonstrate that they look for every possible avenue to avoid complying with the court’s orders.”

Last Friday, Hi-Tech sent documents to the court to show that they had issued 3,301 “urgent” supplement recall notices to its retailers across the country. However, the judge noted that the recall notices were not enough to protect consumers from the supplements.

This is not the first time Wheat has had a run-in with the FTC that ended in jail time. The FTC first learned about the supplement company’s bogus claims in 2004, when false claims on supplement packaging were brought to the agency’s attention.

In 2004, Wheat was incarcerated for supplements produced by his Norcross, Georgia-based pharmaceutical company, and ordered to pay $16 million. Wheat has since paid off the money, but while he was in jail, he began producing marketing and design for several new supplements, including “Rapid Fat Loss,” “Thermogenic Fat Burner” and “Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction,” which hit the market while he was still in prison. However, Wheat was under court order not to produce more products for his business while jailed.

In 2008, Wheat was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges involving unapproved new supplements produced out of the country, in a facility in Belize.

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Dangerous Drug Recall Cases

The Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. is a leader in the consumer protection battle against dangerous drug recalls and defective devices. We represent individuals who have been killed or injured by dangerous or defective pharmaceuticals. If you or a family member have been injured or killed after using a dangerous drugs such as dietary or weight loss supplements with undeclared ingredients, contact our dangerous drug lawyers as soon as possible so that we can begin taking steps to preserve evidence and your claim immediately. We offer free consultations to discuss the facts of your case. 803.252.4800