ROME,
Ga. - Irfanali Momin and Shiba I. Momin a/k/a Saguftabanu Momin,
husband and wife, have been sentenced to prison for naturalization fraud
and conspiring to illegally import and distribute misbranded drug
products from China and traffic counterfeit goods. The Momins have also
been criminally denaturalized as result of their convictions for
naturalization fraud.
“The defendants built their business and earned their citizenship
through fraud,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “And, by
illegally importing and distributing products containing drugs that can
only be obtained in the United States with a prescription written by a
licensed medical professional, the Momins put profit over public
safety.”
“This announcement demonstrates that those who subvert the regulatory
functions of the FDA by distributing misbranded drugs containing
undeclared prescription drug ingredients and counterfeit tobacco
products will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent
in Charge Justin C. Fielder, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations
Miami Field Office. “We will continue to bring to justice those who
place American consumers at risk by selling these illegal and
potentially dangerous products.”
“The Momins lived a life of lies in this country from their
fraudulent citizenship to their business of selling illegal products to
customers whose health was threatened by the use of those products,”
said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Now they
will pay for their deception in prison time and loss of their
citizenship. The FBI is committed to working with our federal partners
to protect our citizens against anyone who would choose to do them
harm.”
“The Momins will now face the consequences of their lies and schemes to
illegally gain citizenship and import and sell misbranded
pharmaceuticals. Their actions not only placed unsuspecting purchasers
at risk, they also threatened the integrity of the US immigration
system,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and
Alabama. “Homeland Security Investigations and its law enforcement
partners will aggressively pursue those that seek to profit from these
fraudulent and dangerous activities.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other
information presented in court: Between August 2014 and November 2018,
the Momins ordered and sold male enhancement products from China
marketed under various names. These products contained sildenafil, the
active pharmaceutical ingredient in Viagra, and/or tadalafil, the active
pharmaceutical ingredient in Cialis. Both Viagra and Cialis can be
obtained in the U.S. only with a prescription from a doctor.
The Momins had in fact received more than a dozen notices from the
FDA advising them to not sell these products. The FDA has also warned
consumers for more than half-a-decade to not purchase or use such “all
natural” sexual products because they could have serious side effects,
especially in men who are taking nitrates and suffer from diabetes, high
blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease.
In order to evade import restrictions, the Momins’ China-based
suppliers mislabeled the boxes containing the illegal pills to make it
appear that the boxes contained items that can be legally imported into
the U.S., such as beauty products, health products, and health supplies.
The Momins admitted to selling between $550,000 and $1.5 million in
illegal drug products over the course of the conspiracy. They also sold
various counterfeit goods from their warehouse in Dalton, Georgia,
including counterfeit designer watches, headphones, e-cigarette devices,
and tobacco rolling papers.
Earlier, in October 2013, the Momins both applied to become
naturalized U.S. citizens. On his application form, Irfanali Momin
falsely stated that he had never been married before and did not
disclose that he had in fact been married to two women at the same time.
During an interview with USCIS in June 2014, Irfanali Momin made the
same false declarations. Based upon his false statements, Irfanali Momin
became a naturalized U.S. citizen on August 16, 2014. On her
application form, Shiba I. Momin a/k/a Saguftabanu Momin, falsely stated
that she did not go by any other names when in fact she knew that her
actual name was Shiba I. Momin, but she was only passing as Saguftabanu
Momin. The investigation had revealed that Shiba I. Momin had originally
obtained a Georgia’s driver’s license in her real name only to later
obtain a fraudulent license in the name Saguftabanu Momin—the name she
used to apply for and fraudulently receive U.S. citizenship on August 1,
2014. If USCIS had been aware of these facts, it would have denied her
citizenship
On February 12, 2021, Irfanali Momin, 48, and Shiba I. Momin a/k/a
Saguftabanu Momin, 42, both of Dahlonega, Georgia, were each sentenced
by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to one year, six months in prison
to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a
special assessment of $200. They were both convicted on September 23,
2020 after pleading guilty to a criminal information. On February 23,
2021, Judge Jones issued orders revoking their U.S.
citizenship.
This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration,
Office of Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla prosecuted the case.
Posts
