Spanish Fort Alabama Couple Sentenced for the Production and Packaging of Misbranded Drugs and Pesticides
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Alabama
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 2, 2021
United States Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Richard and Monique Parker of Spanish Fort, Alabama, doing business as FB McGuinness were sentenced in federal court on four counts of an information. The Parkers pled guilty to introducing misbranded animal drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead, operating an unregistered drug establishment, and the sale of unregistered, adulterated, and misbranded pesticides.
According to documents filed as part of the defendant’s guilty plea the Parkers operated a business, F.B. McGuinness, from their residence in Spanish Fort. F.B. McGuinness sold products from a catalogue, including drugs and pesticides mainly focused on the cockfighting industry. The facility was unregistered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These products included items that were repackaged and labeled to include false FDA and NADA numbers on F.B. McGuinness products. Through a series of anonymous purchases, products were obtained from the F.B. McGuinness catalogue. An analysis of the products purchased indicated that these items were mislabeled or not as they were advertised.
In October 2020 a search warrant was executed at the Parker’s residence and location of their catalogue business. The Parkers admitted to producing and packaging drugs and pesticides at their residence for several years. The Parkers went on to admit that many of the products were repackaged and relabeled for F.B. McGuinness. The Parkers stated that the false FDA and NADA numbers on the F.B. McGuinness products gave a perception of legitimacy for their customers.
The F.B. McGuinness catalogue included products the FDA no longer approved for sale in the United States because they contained suspected carcinogens. Additionally, the EPA determined the Parker’s facility contained pesticides that were inactive or no longer allowed to be marketed in the United States.
At sentencing, the Parkers were sentenced to a three year term of probation, a $5,000 fine and the forfeiture of $100,000.
The case was investigated by the FDA, the EPA, and the FBI.
“Since 2014, the defendants sold to customers across the country over $3 million of products, which included unregistered pesticides without instructions on how to use the product safely,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Chuck Carfagno of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Atlanta. “Today’s sentencing shows that EPA and our law enforcement partners will hold responsible those who violate our pesticide laws and put the public at risk.”
“The FDA regulates animal drugs as part of its mission to protect the public health, which includes ensuring that prescription animal drugs are lawfully distributed and dispensed pursuant to a valid prescription,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, Ph.D., FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. “These laws are in place not only for the well-being of the animals, but also to protect consumers from animals that may be used for food that may contain unsafe drug residues. We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to evade the law.”
This matter was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Component(s):
USAO - Alabama, Southern