United States Attorney Dana J.

Boente
Eastern District of Virginia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 9, 2014
WWW.J USTICE.GOV/USAO/VAE/

CONTACT: PRESS OFFICER
(703) 842-4050
usavae.press@usdoj.gov
ILLEGAL DRUG COMPANY GALLANT PHARMA
AND CO-FOUNDER SENTENCED

ALEXANDRIA, Va. Gallant Pharma International Inc. (Gallant Pharma), an
unlicensed wholesale drug distributor headquartered in Arlington, Va., that distributed
more than 17,000 units of non-FDA-approved cancer and cosmetic drugs to doctors
across the United States, was sentenced today to pay $3.4 million in forfeiture and
restitution. On Dec. 2, 2013, Gallant Pharma pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal
importation, five counts of introducing misbranded drugs and five counts of unlicensed
prescription drug wholesaling.
Syed Farhan Huda, 39, formerly of Arlington, Va., co-founder and co-owner of
Gallant Pharma, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, followed by two years of
supervised release. Huda also was ordered to pay $3.4 million in forfeiture and
restitution to victims. On Dec. 2, 2013, Huda pleaded guilty to illegal importation,
introducing misbranded drugs, unlicensed medical wholesaling and wire fraud.
Also sentenced today was Gallant Pharma office manager Deeba Mallick, 37, the
wife of co-owner Huda. Mallick was sentenced to nine months in prison, one year of
supervised release and a $75,000 fine. Mallick pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2013 to
misprision of a felony.
Dana J . Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia;
Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administrations
(FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations; Katrina W. Berger, Acting Special Agent in
Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI), Washington; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the
Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Karl C. Colder, Special
Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) Washington Field
Division; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the
announcement after the sentencings by U.S. District J udge Claude M. Hilton.
According to information made public in court, between August 2009 and August
2013, Gallant Pharma smuggled into the United States and sold more than $12.4 million
in non-FDA-approved chemotherapy drugs and injectable cosmetic drugs and devices,
generating profits of $3.4 million. Many of these drugs were subject to strict temperature
controls to protect drug potency. Gallant Pharma shipped and received such drugs with
ice packs, not dry ice as used by legitimate distributors, and on at least one occasion, a
shipment containing such drugs took more than two weeks to arrive in Virginia from
overseas during a J uly 2012 heat wave. Many drugs sold by Gallant Pharma were also
required to carry a FDA black box warning, which indicates that a drug carries a
significant risk of serious or life-threatening adverse effects. The versions sold by
Gallant Pharma did not meet this or other FDA labeling requirements.
On Tuesday, co-conspirators Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, and Eva Montejo Pritchard,
48, both of Rockville, Maryland, were convicted by a federal jury for their involvement
in the scheme. Sarraf, a licensed doctor and the owner of Aphrodite Skin Care & Esthetic
Clinic in McLean, Virginia, and Pritchard, Aphrodites office manager, received
hundreds of shipments addressed to Aphrodite, containing illegal importations intended
for Gallant Pharma, in exchange for a deeply discounted price on non-FDA-approved
drugs and devices. While cancer drugs were always handed off to Gallant Pharma, the
defendants kept many of the non-FDA-approved cosmetic drugs and devices, which were
used on Aphrodite patients without the patients knowledge or consent.
To date, twelve defendants associated with Gallant Pharma have been convicted.
Two additional defendants named in the indictment, Robert Wachna and Munajj
Rochelle, remain fugitives and are believed to be in Canada.
This case was investigated by FDAs Office of Criminal Investigations, DEAs
Group 33 Diversion Task Force, ICE-HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with
assistance from INTERPOL and the Arlington County Police Department. Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Lindsay Kelly, Maya Song and J ay Prabhu are prosecuting the case on behalf
of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorneys
Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related
court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for
the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on
https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

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