Four exectives of of two Californian import companies have been indicted by the city of Los Angeles, reported by the NY Times.
The Los Angeles city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, working with the Food and Drug Administration, filed a criminal complaint against two Los Angeles-based importers, Vernon Sales Inc. and the Selective Imports Corporation.
At Selective, Frahad Nazarian, the president, and Yones Ghermezi, the vice president, were charged with two counts of receiving, selling and delivering the tainted products.At Vernon Sales, Kamyab Toofer, the president, and Pejman Mossayi, the vice president, were charged with 14 counts of receiving, selling and delivering an adulterated drug.
The case is the first instance of criminal charges being filed in the United States against any party in the toothpaste scare and comes after a suit filed in Missouri against an American company that had imported tainted ingredients used in pet food.
This is not the first instance of criminal indictment, and it won’t be the last one either. Importing from China has become a little more costly to some who have not been practicing due diligence and caution. An investigative trip to Chinese exporters is a lot more pleasant than being charged with a crime.
