Answers
09/14/1990

<TITLE>Fraudulant Animal Drugs</TITLE>
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         'UNREPENTANT' DEALER SENTENCED FOR FRAUDULENT ANIMAL DRUGS 
    A California animal drug dealer was sentenced to six months in prison on
August 27 for criminal contempt of a 1988 consent decree prohibiting her
from doing business in unapproved new animal drugs.  The therapeutic claims 
made for the drugs were fraudulent, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney
Gregory A. Vega, who prosecuted the case.  The following may be used to 
answer questions: 
    Sissy Harrington-McGill, president and sole owner of Solid Gold Health
Products for Pets Inc., El Cajon, Calif., was found guilty of the charge on 
July 12 after a three day trial.  Her corporation, also known as the Solid
Gold Holistic Animal-Equine Nutrition Center, was fined $10,000 and placed
on five years probation  -- meaning that its operations will be scrutinized 
by the court for this period. 
    Chief Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr., of the California Federal District
Court in San Diego, ordered Harrington-McGill taken into custody
immediately.  He said at no time did she acknowledge any guilt and was
"totally unrepentant."
                                   -MORE- 


                                            Page 2, T90-42, Animal Drugs
    In the 1988 ruling, FDA had obtained a permanent injunction against the 
defendants barring them from manufacturing, marketing and promoting drugs 
they claimed would treat a wide range of serious animal diseases, including 
cancer, arthritis and immunological disorders.  The products -- herbal
mixtures, nutritional supplements and food additives -- were classified as
drugs because of the claims to treat disease conditions.
    So successful were the defendant's promotional efforts -- often carried 
out at national and international horse, dog and cat shows -- that the
business expanded from a residential basement operation to warehousing and
manufacturing facilities in an industrial park, a van delivery network in 
southern California and an international product distribution operation.
    The company reportedly grossed nearly one million dollars in sales in 
1989.  Its products included  "Solid Gold Concept-A-Mare," "Solid Gold
Equi-Calm," "Solid Gold Energy Plus," and "Solid Gold Herbal Wormer." 
    The court agreed with FDA that Solid Gold Health Products had defrauded 
customers of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, had continued to put
animal lives at risk, deterred consumers from obtaining effective veterinary
drugs and endangered animal handlers and pet owners by exposing them to 
disease.
    The court concluded that although Harrington-McGill fully understood the
provisions in the consent decree, she never had any intention of complying
with them and had spent the past two years corresponding with FDA while 
continuing to sell the prohibited products. 
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