Justice Department indicts 2 over alleged counterfeit Ozempic sales to U.S. distributors

A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida has indicted two Indian nationals on charges tied to an alleged transnational scheme to sell counterfeit Ozempic to U.S. distributors, the Justice Department announced.

Swapnadip Roy, 33, and Vicky Ramancha, 37, are charged with conspiracy and smuggling. Roy was extradited from Italy to the United States and made his initial appearance in Tampa, Florida, the department said.

The indictment alleges that Roy, Ramancha and their co-conspirators sold counterfeit Ozempic to U.S. distributors at deeply discounted prices. According to court documents, Roy and Ramancha allegedly obtained the counterfeit drug from unauthorized sources in China beginning in at least July 2023 and continuing through April 2024.

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The counterfeit Ozempic allegedly included fake packaging, package inserts, pen labels and needles intended to deceive downstream customers into believing they were purchasing authentic Ozempic authorized by the manufacturer. Prosecutors allege the scheme continued after the FDA seized some of the counterfeit Ozempic in December 2023 and issued a public warning.

Roy and Ramancha are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit smuggling and to defraud the United States, three counts of smuggling, and two counts of selling counterfeit drugs and holding counterfeit drugs for sale. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 71 years in prison, according to the department.

“Counterfeit prescription drugs — especially common ones — threaten the health and safety of every American who depends on the integrity of our pharmaceutical supply,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Murray for the Middle District of Florida said his office “will not tolerate bad actors corrupting our pharmaceutical supply chain.”

Justin Green, assistant commissioner of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, said people who introduce counterfeit drugs into the highly regulated U.S. wholesale distribution market put American consumers at significant risk.

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“Drug safety and quality do not begin or end at the U.S. border,” Green said.

The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations is investigating. Trial Attorney Peter Leininger of the Criminal Division’s Health & Safety Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Roberts for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured Roy’s continued detention following his arrest under an INTERPOL Red Notice, then timely filed a request for his extradition from Italy, the department said.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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