Former State Employee Sentenced for Conspiracy to Illegally Import Prescription Drugs

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Kentucky

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 2, 2021

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A former Kentucky state employee, Howard Stanley Head, Jr., 59, was sentenced in federal court on Monday, to 12 months and 1 day in prison, by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, for conspiracy to import misbranded prescription drugs.  He was also fined $1,000 and ordered to forfeit $30,275 in unlawful gains.           

From July 2015 to October 2019, Head regularly made online purchases of thousands of tablets of erectile dysfunction drugs, from overseas suppliers.  These drugs were not authorized for entry into the United States and did not satisfy Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for proper labelling.  Additionally, Head is not a doctor or pharmacist, and had no legal authority to prescribe, dispense, transport or otherwise handle prescription medications.

After obtaining the shipments of generic erectile dysfunction drugs, Head resold them at a profit, to customers in Frankfort and other parts of Kentucky.  While operating this illegal business, in some instances, Head used his state email account to order shipments and contact customers.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Mark McCormack, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA, Office of Criminal Investigations, Washington Field Office; and Phillip Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by FDA Office of Criminal Investigations and the Kentucky State Police.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Moynahan.

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Attachment(s): 
Download head_sentencing.pdf
Topic(s): 
Prescription Drugs
Component(s): 
USAO - Kentucky, Eastern
Contact: 
CONTACT: Gabrielle Dudgeon PHONE: (859) 685-4887 E-MAIL: gabrielle.dudgeon@usdoj.gov