U.S. ARRESTS TWO INDIVIDUALS FOR SELLING VIAGRA OVER THE INTERNET AS "BOOM!” AND FALSELY LABELING IT AS A NON-VIAGRA HERBAL SUPPLEMENT

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and MARK J. MERSHON, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that TIBOR LISKA and BLAKE BOHINC were arrested this afternoon on charges that they used interstate wires to market and sell, in the United States and abroad, the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra by falsely labeling it as a purely herbal supplement they called "BOOM!". According to a criminal Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court:

From at least March 2006 through November 2007, LISKA and BOHINC advertised and sold over the internet a product that they called BOOM! -- purported to be a purely herbal supplement for the enhancement of sexual performance -- which was sold in individual packets containing chocolate-flavored powder. Internet advertisements for BOOM! claimed that the product was a "far safer" and "certainly less expensive" herbal alternative to Viagra.

In fact, BOOM! contained sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, a trademarked pharmaceutical used to treat erectile dysfunction. Sildenafil citrate, which cannot be dispensed without a prescription, can have dangerous side effects that include a severe drop in blood pressure, sudden decrease or loss of vision, and potential blood vessel disease of the retina. For this reason, individuals taking nitrates, even occasionally, or other medications that also lower blood pressure, cannot also take sildenafil citrate due to its potentially deadly side effects. Mislabeling sildenafil citrate as an herbal supplement may lead persons who normally cannot tolerate the drug to believe they are consuming a safe alternative.

The packaging on the BOOM! product does not reference Pfizer, Viagra, or sildenafil citrate. Though the label contains a cautionary statement regarding patients with high blood pressure, it does not contain any warnings of sildenafil citrate's other side effects.

LISKA and BOHINC imported sildenafil citrate into the United States from China, and then employed two companies in the New Paltz, New York area to mix the drug with chocolate powder and other ingredients and package the product. Through this process, LISKA and BOHINC obtained approximately 12,000 packets of BOOM! per month, which they distributed on an international scale through a company called "Yoi Jin Sei LLC." The defendants marketed the drug in Australia, Colombia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Israel, the United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina, Japan, and the Slovak Republic.

On November 23, 2007, LISKA and BOHINC's phone conversations with a confidential informant ("CI") were monitored and recorded. When the CI informed LISKA and BOHINC that law enforcement knew the BOOM! product contained Viagra and wished to speak to him, neither defendant denied that BOOM! contained Viagra. The defendants each instructed the CI on how to handle questions from law enforcement, and to deny that he knew anything about the BOOM! product or its ingredients.

LISKA and BOHINC are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, LISKA and BOHINC each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary loss or gain derived from the offense. LISKA, 47, resides in Ocean, New Jersey. BOHINC, 50, resides in Holmdel, New Jersey.

LISKA and BOHINC will be presented tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge GABRIEL W. GORENSTEIN.

Mr. GARCIA praised the work of the FBI in this case, and said the investigation is continuing.

This case is being prosecuted by the Office's Major Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney SEETHA RAMACHANDRAN is in charge of this prosecution.

The charges in the criminal Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.