California Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Illegal Depressant Etizolam Over the Internet

BOSTON - A California man pleaded guilty today for conspiracy to sell the illegal depressant Etizolam over the internet.

Paul Z. Lamberty, 52, of Folsom, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of the introduction of misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Dec. 13, 2024.

Lamberty operated websites Encern.com and Ohmod.com and used those sites to sell the drug etizolam to customers throughout the United States, including Massachusetts. Payments for etizolam through those websites could only be made through cryptocurrency and it would be shipped to customers through U.S. Priority Mail. Encern.com has no corporate records in the State of California and the Encern.com website did not provide a physical address for the business. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved etizolam for use as a drug, and thus it cannot be sold or prescribed in the United States. Despite this, Lamberty purchased drugs from suppliers in China and imported those drugs into the United States and sold the drugs with false labelling stating that the products were sold "For Research Purposes Only" and "Not for Human Consumption." Based on an analysis of bank and cryptocurrency records, Lamberty and his co-conspirator conducted gross sales of over $550,000 of etizolam through the internet during the course of the conspiracy.

According to the charging document, etizolam is a drug known as a thienodiazepine, a class of drugs chemically related to benzodiazepines, which produce central nervous system depression. Physicians may prescribe FDA-approved benzodiazepines to treat insomnia and anxiety, but benzodiazepines and thienodiazepines also carry risks of dependency, toxicity, and even fatal overdose, particularly when combined with other central nervous system depressants.

The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of introduction of misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead provides for a sentence up to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Lauren A. Graber of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.