A Visalia doctor pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to selling misbranded drugs to combat the COVID-19 virus.
The big picture: Stephen Meis, 73, pleaded guilty to one court of introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.
- Meis was the Medical Director of Golden Sunrise Pharmaceutical Inc. and Golden Sunrise Nutraceutical Inc.
- His companies manufactured. Marketed and sold products that claimed to effectively treat a variety of medical conditions.
Driving the news: Beginning on March 30, 2020, Meis and Golden Sunrise’s CEO Huu Tieu began selling a set of herbal mixtures they called the Emergency D-Virus Plan of Care, branding it as a COVID-19 treatment.
- The treatment was a box containing vials of Golden Sunrise drug products, including one called Imunstem, along with an Emergency D-Virus Plan of Care information sheet.
- Meis and Tieu mailed the products to practitioners, public officials and other people throughout California and out of state.
- THe drug labels were false and misleading, stating that they were “uniquely qualified to treat and modify the course of the virus epidemic in China and other countries.”
- Golden Sunrise falsely claimed that the products were the first supplement in the United States to be approved as a prescription medicine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the COVID-19 virus, when they were not approved by the FDA.
Flashback: Tieu was already sentenced to 18 months in prison last year for the introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.
What we’re watching: Meis is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14.
- He faces a maximum of 12 months in prison and a $100,000 fine.
