The short version
- The company told customers its products were tested. Prosecutors say it "did not test its products for quality and purity".
- From 2019 to 2024 its customers were in all 50 states and more than 80 countries.
- Customers reported harm. The memo's list runs from "skin irritation and chronic acne" to "even suicidal ideation".
- The owner pleaded guilty. The forgery is the prosecutors' account, set out in a memo that argues for a sentence.
What did the peptide company tell its customers?
The peptide company told its customers that its products were tested, pharmaceutical grade and made in the United States. It also said it was licensed and registered with the FDA. Prosecutors list those claims in their memo and say every one was false. [2]
| The claim, as prosecutors describe it | What prosecutors say |
|---|---|
| Products "tested to verify authenticity and purity" | It "did not test its products for quality and purity" |
| Products manufactured and tested in the United States | They "were not manufactured in the United States but were shipped from Asia" |
| A company licensed and registered with the FDA | It "actually had no relationship with the FDA" |
- Products "tested to verify authenticity and purity"
- It "did not test its products for quality and purity"
- Products manufactured and tested in the United States
- They "were not manufactured in the United States but were shipped from Asia"
- A company licensed and registered with the FDA
- It "actually had no relationship with the FDA"
The memo says the company sold "SARMs, peptides, and other unapproved drugs for human consumption".
The Justice Department's announcement quotes the US attorney for the district: "They were all lies." He said customers "were poisoned with known and unknown substances that were illegally imported from China, India, and other countries". [1]
That is a prosecutor's description. The lab results in the papers are narrower.
How do prosecutors say the peptide company forged its lab certificates?
Prosecutors say the peptide company forged its lab certificates by editing ones that belonged to other businesses. Their memo says the company "also forged Certificates of Analysis for its products". [2]
The memo gives the method and the reason:
- "by editing the information and watermarks on other businesses' Certificates of Analysis"
- "taking off the third-party contact information for the lab that the report came from"
- "so that customers could not call the lab about the report"
A certificate of analysis, or COA, is the sheet a lab issues with a batch's test results.
An edited sheet can look right. By the memo's account, a call to the lab was the check the company took away.
Did anyone test the peptides the company sold?
The prosecutors' memo reports no lab test of a peptide the company sold. The tests it does report were on products labeled as SARMs. Every one came back as testosterone. [2]
It says: "All six different SARM products obtained by the government during its investigation tested as testosterone". One customer tested his own order, and "it also turned out to be testosterone."
| What was tested | Result |
|---|---|
| Six products labeled as SARMs, obtained by the government | All six tested as testosterone |
| One customer's own order, labeled as a SARM | Testosterone |
| Any peptide the company sold | No test in the memo |
- Six products labeled as SARMs, obtained by the government
- All six tested as testosterone
- One customer's own order, labeled as a SARM
- Testosterone
- Any peptide the company sold
- No test in the memo
The memo adds: "Testosterone is a Schedule III controlled substance and has serious health side effects."
The Justice Department's announcement says several customers "reported severe negative effects on their physical, psychological, and mental health". It counts among them people who "ingested testosterone mislabeled as SARMs". The US attorney's list of what customers reported includes "cardiac health issues". [1]
"Many have submitted impact statements", the memo says. They reported "skin irritation and chronic acne". They also reported "drops in natural testosterone levels, requiring continued medical treatment and testosterone replacement therapy". The list ends on "stress, anxiety, depression, and mood swings, even suicidal ideation". [2]
Prosecutors also wrote that many of the drugs the company sold "carried a risk of death or serious bodily injury". They wrote that as long as its products are "in people's homes, there will continue to be an ongoing risk to consumers". [2]
Did the FDA warn the peptide company first?
Prosecutors say the FDA warned the peptide company twice, in December 2020 and in March 2022. The first letter was about a peptide, thymosin alpha 1. [2]
The memo says the owner and his sister "ignored these warnings and continued selling the products". The business ran until March 2024, "when it was shut down after the federal investigators executed a warrant".
It comes to more than three years of orders after the first letter, and about two years after the second.
What sentence did the peptide seller get?
The owner of the peptide company got 70 months in prison. His sister got 16 months. Both pleaded guilty to "introducing unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead". The owner also pleaded guilty to "illegally importing merchandise into the United States". [1]
| The figure | |
|---|---|
| Orders | More than 92,000, a government estimate. More than 48,000 of them were orders of SARMs [2] |
| Sales | More than 10 million dollars, as some shipping records "appeared to indicate" [2] |
| The owner's proceeds | At least 5 million dollars, an estimate both sides agreed on [2] |
| Money judgment against the owner | 5 million dollars [1] |
| Restitution ordered | 78,317.52 dollars [1] |
- Orders
- More than 92,000, a government estimate. More than 48,000 of them were orders of SARMs [2]
- Sales
- More than 10 million dollars, as some shipping records "appeared to indicate" [2]
- The owner's proceeds
- At least 5 million dollars, an estimate both sides agreed on [2]
- Money judgment against the owner
- 5 million dollars [1]
- Restitution ordered
- 78,317.52 dollars [1]
What does a peptide certificate of analysis prove?
On its own, a peptide certificate of analysis proves that somebody made a certificate. It does not prove who. The better question is who picks up when you call the lab.
CBS News reported on a different brand's certificate, in a story updated on 2 July 2026. The operations manager of the lab named on it said by email: "We did not issue these". [3]
The two cases are separate.
What nobody has shown
- The memo does not show what was in the company's peptides. It reports no test of one.
- The memo does not say which products the forged certificates covered, or how they reached customers.
- The owner pleaded guilty. The papers we read describe no trial of the forgery claim.
The other side
One company's record says nothing about any other seller.
The owner told investigators that some of his SARM products came from China. He said he did not know they were testosterone. [2] His lawyers objected to a sentencing increase for "the conscious or reckless risk of death or serious bodily injury".
Prosecutors estimate more than 54,000 customers, and by their count in July, 167 had asked for restitution. The memo says "Only a small fraction of the customers have responded".
What would change this
- Lab results for the peptides the company sold.
- The evidence behind the forgery claim, if it is made public.
- A filing from the defense that answers the certificate claim.
Three questions to ask next
Last checked: 10 October 2026.
- [1] US Attorney's Office, Northern District of Indiana, announcement of 30 July 2026: "Illinois Man and Indiana Woman Sentenced Respectively to 70 Months and 16 Months in Prison For Selling Unapproved Drugs in Interstate Commerce" (opens in new tab)Back to text (first mention of source 1)
- [2] Government's sentencing memorandum, US District Court, Northern District of Indiana, case 3:25-cr-00091, document 64, filed 16 July 2026. 11 pagesBack to text (first mention of source 2)
- [3] CBS News, updated 2 July 2026, "What a Brooklyn bodega reveals about the craze for an experimental weight-loss drug" (opens in new tab)Back to text (first mention of source 3)