Man pleads guilty to federal felony for selling $4.4 million in unapproved steroid-like drugs
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – A 51-year-old Nampa man pleaded guilty to introduction of unapproved new drugs in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced Friday.
According to court records, Michael Terry Little ran a business selling Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs). Little primarily sold SARMs products via a website, https://sarm.tech under the name SARMTECH. SARMs are synthetic chemicals designed to mimic the effects of testosterone and other anabolic steroids. SARMs are “new drugs” under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and therefore not approved for sale. Little knew the SARMs products were not FDA approved.
Little manufactured his SARMs products at a business in Nampa. There, he processed the bulk ingredients he imported from China—encapsulating, bottling, and preparing them for shipment. To avoid government seizures of SARMs shipped to other countries, Little offered a stealth shipping option for an additional fee that intentionally mispackaged and falsely declared SARMs shipments as vitamins and supplements. Law enforcement made multiple undercover purchases of SARMs products from SARMTECH, including products containing Ostarine (MK-2866), Ligandrol (LGD-4033), and other SARMs compounds. Between March 2018 and January 2022, little sold at least $4,499,197.46 of SARMs products.
Little is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“I am grateful to the team of attorneys and law enforcement agents who unraveled this illegal and dangerous scheme,” U.S. Attorney Hurwit said. “We are committed to protecting the public from those who sell unapproved drugs, especially when the ingredients used are imported from China without any way to verify their safety.”
“Unapproved drugs that are sold online present serious risks to consumers,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Iwanicki, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those whose actions threaten the public health.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit credited the cooperative efforts of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, which led to the charges.
