Man pleads guilty in
counterfeit Viagra caseA Waikiki man faces jail time
and fines of more than $2 million
The first person to be indicted in Hawaii for selling counterfeit Viagra pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court to money laundering and using a counterfeit trademark stamp on the male potency pills.
In a plea agreement filed Tuesday, Seon Il Kim, also known as Hyo Ik Cho, acknowledged that he is "guilty of knowingly and intentionally trafficking in goods that bore a counterfeit trademark on them."
Kim was indicted by a federal grand jury in April for counterfeiting Viagra using a precursor smuggled in from the Republic of China and selling it without a valid prescription.
Federal agents alleged that for about five years, Kim manufactured the pills in his Waikiki apartment, where he had three pill presses that imprinted the Pfizer drug logo, and then sold them to tourists for $300 a bottle.
In the plea agreement, Kim admitted that he sold his product to agents on April 16.
In relation to the money-laundering charge, Kim admitted he transmitted $5,200 from his Viagra business to Greatide Industrial Co. Inc. in China to buy sildenafil citrate, a precursor necessary to make the drug.
He also acknowledged that he instructed the chemical be sent by express mail and labeled as "food supplements" or "health foods" to evade detection.
For selling counterfeit Viagra, he could be fined up to $2 million and imprisoned for up to 10 years. For money laundering, he faces possible fines of $500,000 and imprisonment for up to 20 years.
Neither the U.S. attorney nor Kim's attorney could be reached for comment or for a sentencing date.
