Virginia Man Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Introducing Misbranded Drugs Into Interstate Commerce

Jacksonville, Florida - U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Jonathan Corbett Cosie (56, Chesterfield, Virginia) to two years in federal prison for introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. Cosie pleaded guilty on May 30, 2023.

According to court documents, from approximately 2017 through 2020, Cosie owned and operated HCGRX, a Florida corporation that he used to distribute misbranded drugs via the internet. Among others, Cosie distributed multiple varieties of injectable drugs containing human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved certain prescription drugs containing HCG for the treatment of female infertility and other medical conditions but has repeatedly warned consumers against the use of illicit products containing HCG for unapproved purposes such as weight loss.

Cosie obtained his products containing HCG from companies in India, China, and elsewhere, which did not have the required approvals of the FDA for distribution in the United States. Cosie marketed the HCG products on his website explicitly for weight loss and made fraudulent claims to consumers that HCGRX could allow customers to avoid having to obtain a prescription to purchase the drugs and that it was cooperating with "international pharmacies" to ship out the products. In reality, Cosie was obtaining the drugs from foreign and domestic suppliers, creating counterfeit labels and re-labeling the products at a residence in Jacksonville, and shipping the drugs along with syringes to customers directly. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Jacksonville residence and recovered numerous vials of products containing HCG, boxes of misbranded erectile dysfunction drugs, syringes, empty vials, product labels, and other items related to the HCGRX business.

Over the course of the scheme, Cosie obtained approximately $626,000 from the distribution of misbranded drugs.

This case was investigated by the FDA - Office of Criminal Investigation, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office - Pharmaceutical Diversion & Designer Drug Unit - North Florida HIDTA, and the Virginia State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.