Chinese national Shengyang (Tom) Zhou has been sentenced to 12 years in jail in USA for his part in the trafficking Illegal copies of Alli a non-prescription weight loss drug from GlaxoSmithKline.
He was also ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to the victims of the crime, including an emergency room doctor from Texas who suffered a mild stroke after taking the fake version of the weight loss drug.
Instead of the usual fat-binding compound orlistat, the fake Alli contained sibutramine which is an appetite suppressant and can cause side effects such as high-blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations, heart attack or stroke in vulnerable people.
Zhou’s business associate Qing Ming Hu, a naturalised US citizen, was also prosecuted, and received a sentence of 3 years’ probation. He was involved in receiving shipments of the fake Alli and selling on the drugs to the US public.
For further information on genuine Alli please follow the highlighted link.
