NEW JERSEY MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN SCHEME TO SELL VIAGRA FALSELY LABELED AS NON-VIAGRA HERBAL SUPPLEMENT

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that TIBOR LISKA pleaded guilty today to conspiring to market and sell the prescription drug sildenafil citrate (the active ingredient in Viagra) by falsely labeling it as a purely herbal supplement called "BOOM!". According to the Complaint, the Indictment, and statements made during the guilty plea:

From at least March 2006 through November 2007, LISKA worked with others to advertise and sell over the internet a product that he called "BOOM!". To market the BOOM!, LISKA and his co-conspirators represented that BOOM! was a purely herbal supplement that enhances sexual performance, and sold BOOM! In individual packets that contained a chocolate-flavored powder. Internet advertisements for BOOM! claimed that the product was an alternative to Viagra that was "probably far safer" and "certainly less expensive" than Viagra.

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, should not also take sildenafil citrate due to its potentially deadly side effects. Mislabeling sildenafil citrate as an herbal supplement—which is what the BOOM! product purports to be—may lead persons who normally cannot tolerate sildenafil citrate to believe they are consuming a safe alternative.

The packaging on the BOOM! product did not make reference to Pfizer, Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, but did contain a cautionary statement regarding patients with high blood pressure. It did not, however, contain any warnings of sildenafil citrate's other dangerous side effects.

LISKA employed two companies in the New Paltz area of New York State to mix sildenafil citrate with chocolate powder and other ingredients, and then package the product. Through this process, LISKA obtained approximately 12,000 packets of BOOM! per month. LISKA distributed BOOM!, through a company called "Yoi Jin Sei LLC," to countries including the United States, Australia, Colombia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Israel, the United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina, Japan, and the Slovak Republic.

LISKA pleaded guilty this morning to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, before United States District Judge DENISE L. COTE. LISKA faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense. LISKA, 47, resides in Ocean, New Jersey. LISKA is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2008, by Judge COTE.

On March 14, 2008, LISKA's codefendant, BLAKE BOHINC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Food and Drug Administration.

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

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