On August 3, 2020, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams granted the administration`s request for default judgment against two Americans currently residing in Colombia who lead the non-religious Genesis II Health and Healing Church in an FDCA civil action. The court had previously issued a default judgment against the company and two U.S.-based executives. The other two defendants, Mark Grenon and his adult son Joseph Grenon, are now permanently banned from distributing “miracle mineral solution,” an industrial bleach product they have touted as a cure for COVID-19 and a host of other serious illnesses. As part of the injunction, the District Court ordered that fair forfeiture with reimbursement to consumers be administered by a special master appointed by the court. In most civil cases, the judge or jury must decide which side wins based on a standard called “preponderance of evidence.” This means that the winning side of the story is true rather than false. This does not mean that one party has presented more evidence than the other. This means that one party`s testimony was more persuasive than the other`s. Criminal cases involve the application of public codes of conduct codified in state laws. In criminal cases, the government prosecutes individuals for violating these laws (in other words, allegedly committing a crime). Criminal sanctions may include fines, community service, probation, imprisonment, etc. A federal civil proceeding involves a dispute between two or more parties.
A civil action begins when a disputing party files a complaint and pays a legal filing fee. An applicant who is unable to pay the fee may submit an application for proceedings in forma pauperis. If the application is granted, the fee does not apply. Criminal cases are divided into three broad categories: There are many types of cases before the civil courts. This website has separate sections for the most common types of civil cases. For more detailed information, you can go to our homepage and click on the topic that interests you. By applying the rules of evidence, the judge determines what information can be presented in the courtroom. So that witnesses can speak to their own knowledge and not alter their account based on what they hear another witness say, they are kept away from the courtroom until they testify. A court reporter keeps a record of court proceedings, and a deputy clerk keeps records of each person who testifies and of any documents, photographs or other evidence presented as evidence. The first complaint was filed against U.S. Stem Cell Clinic, LLC of Sunrise, Florida, U.S.
Stem Cell, Inc., and executives Kristin Comella and Theodore Gradel. The second complaint names California Stem Cell Treatment Center, Inc., of Rancho Mirage and Beverly Hills, California, Cell Surgical Network Corporation and company owners Elliot Lander, M.D. and Mark Berman, M.D. According to the complaints, the defendants and their affiliates used their products on thousands of patients without obtaining the required FDA approvals. The complaints allege that, in some cases, adverse events that harmed patients occurred after treatment with SVF products and that recent FDA inspections have shown that the defendant`s products are not manufactured, processed, packaged, or stored in accordance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP). On December 5, 2019, San Diego Trorice Crawford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money in connection with identity theft allegedly targeting military personnel and veterans. On October 29, 2019, Fredrick Brown, a former civilian contractor stationed at Yongsan Garrison, a U.S. military facility in South Korea, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy related to the same scheme.
Both defendants were charged in a 14-year indictment in which they charged with five-year identity theft targeting military personnel and veterans. When he pleaded guilty, Brown admitted that he exploited his position as an administrator of electronic health records to steal the personally identifying information of thousands of military and veterans and then sold the data to co-conspirators in the Philippines and the United States. Crawford admitted that he recruited at least 30 people to serve as money mules to obtain funds stolen from military and veterans, and that he transferred stolen funds to other co-conspirators in the Philippines. The indictment alleges that members of the conspiracy exploited the personal identifiers of military personnel over a five-year period to steal millions of dollars. The other three accused are all detained in the Philippines, pending repatriation/extradition. On February 19, 2016, Joseph Dallal was sentenced to 33 months in prison under two separate prescription drug diversion programs. The court also ordered Dallal to confiscate $250,000 in ill-gotten gains. Dallal has previously been charged in Puerto Rico County and southern Ohio County for selling illegally obtained prescription drugs linked to two different drug diversion programs. Dallal obtained the drugs from several illegal and unauthorized sources and sold them to co-conspirators without the required genealogical record indicating where Dallal had purchased the drugs. In both cases, Dalpal`s co-conspirators then sold the drugs to wholesalers and pharmacies across the United States with false genealogical records that did not reveal the true sources of the drugs.
The cases were consolidated for pleading and sentencing purposes in Puerto Rico. On December 5, 2014, Dallal pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and transfer. Most civil lawsuits can be divided into several stages: On January 30, 2018, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Aegerion) pleaded guilty to violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) regarding the distribution of a prescription drug, Juxtapid, and was sentenced to three years of probation, including the creation of a $7.2 million reimbursement fund. Juxtapid has been approved to treat patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a rare genetic disorder that causes abnormally high levels of LDL-C or “bad” cholesterol. As part of the approval of juxtapid, the FDA required a Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to educate prescribers about liver toxicity risks and restrict access to juxtapid only to patients with a clinical or laboratory diagnosis compatible with HoFH. However, according to criminal information filed on September 22, 2017, Aegerion did not provide healthcare providers with complete and accurate information about HoFH and did not distribute juxtapid as a general treatment for high cholesterol without adequate instructions for such use. The lawsuit was part of a global resolution that included a separate executive order approving the permanent injunction to clarify civil liability under the FDCA. But not all civil cases follow these steps. Some cases (for example, summary deportation cases) have unique procedures set out in court rules or applicable laws. To learn more about the steps of a particular type of case, you can visit your local law library.
Click here to visit our Law Library page to learn more. On January 18, 2018, the district court issued an executive order imposing a $5 million civil fine and a permanent injunction against Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, to resolve a complaint that the company had violated the Consumer Product Safety Act. In the complaint, which was filed on 18. It was filed in December 2017 with the consent order, alleging that until 2012, Dr. Reddy`s was dispensing oral prescription drugs in blister packs that had failed to test children for resistance under the Poison Packaging Act. In addition to imposing a civil penalty, Dr. Reddy`s order permanently prohibits the distribution of oral prescription household drugs in violation of the law and requires Dr. Reddy`s to implement a compliance program. The injunction further requires Dr. Reddy`s to maintain internal controls and procedures that ensure prompt, truthful, complete and accurate reporting of these matters to the Commission. On January 22, 2018, Thomas Ressler pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit postal fraud for his role in a large-scale international postal fraud scheme.
Between 2012 and 2016, Ressler designed fraudulent sweepstakes and prize notifications sent by co-conspirators to victims in the United States and other countries. The letters falsely claimed that recipients had won money or valuable prizes such as luxury cars and asked victims to send a processing fee of $20 to $25 to claim their prize. The victims who paid the fees received nothing, either a cheap piece of jewellery or a report listing unrelated sweepstakes. Ressler also accepted a civil consent order filed Feb. 21 in the Eastern District of New York that prevents him from engaging in other fraudulent advertising programs. Ressler`s sentencing is currently scheduled for June 12, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Sam Haddon in Helena, Montana. 2. In August 2017, the District Court issued a permanent injunction against Everbright Trading, Inc., its owner, Yuan Xiang Gao, and its operator/manager, Rong Qing Xu.