Family accused of selling fake erectile-dysfunction pills online

A Southern California family was charged Tuesday by federal prosecutors with selling counterfeit erectile-dysfunction drugs, like Viagra and Cialis, online.

John Gitmed, 52, his daughter Felicia Gitmed, 23, his nephew Anthony Pollino Jr., 36, all of Los Angeles, and Gitmed’s ex-wife Holly Gitmed, 38, of Riverbank, were indicted on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods, mail fraud and conspiracy.

According to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of California, between February 2012 and 2014, the family operated a business called California Confidence Company that listed “genuine” doses of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra online.

The family photographed the real drugs and their containers and sent the images to a manufacturer in China, asking that the labeling and pill imprints be duplicated, according to the indictment.

Some of the counterfeit pills contained the active ingredients of the real erectile dysfunction medications they purported to be and other times they didn’t, authorities said.

The family would then package the drugs and sell them on Craigslist. A typical listing would offer a dozen pills for between $100 and $200, depending on the dosage and brand they were supposed to be.

If convicted, each family member faces as long as 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

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