A B.C. judge has ordered a chain of sex shops to pay more than $1 million for selling prescription erectile dysfunction drugs disguised as natural herbal health products in Burnaby and other Lower Mainland cities.
MFH International Enterprise Inc. operates shops in Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby, including the Love in Love store (also known as Male & Female Harmony) at 4554 Kingsway.
The company was found guilty in October of violating the Food and Drugs Act by selling Harmony and Passion Fem, products labelled as herbal sexual enhancements that actually contained large quantities of the prescription drugs tadalafil (sold under the brand name Cialis) and sildenafil (sold as Viagra).
The company, represented by its principal Yan (Andy) Zhang, was sentenced in Richmond provincial court Monday.
Undercover Health Canada operation
The Health Canada investigation into MFH began with a tip from the public that led to a sting operation at Love in Love in Burnaby in December 2020.
An undercover Health Canada inspector went to the store posing as a customer and bought a box of Harmony.
Tests revealed the capsules contained three times the tadalafil in a commercially available dose of Cialis, and Health Canada raided the MFH stores in February 2021, seizing the Harmony and Passion Fem.
The Passion Fem was seized because it had already been recalled in 2019 for containing undeclared sildenafil.
On Monday, Judge Bonnie Craig said MFH had sold and advertised Harmony and Passion Fem as natural health products in a "false, misleading or deceptive manner," knowing they contained prescription sexual enhancement drugs.
"I found that the offences were calculated because of the profit motivation," she said. "Ignoring the regulations allowed MFH to make a good profit with the cost that following that regulation entailed."
'Very serious' risks
Craig said Zhang had been "put on notice" that there were risks associated with Harmony but he "chose to proceed in the face of those risks."
Based on the testimony of a medical expert, Craig said the probability of serious risk was limited to a specific population but the "magnitude of damage that could be caused to that population was very serious."
"The vulnerability of consumers that unwittingly took Harmony and Passion Fem was exacerbated by the fact customers who suffered adverse reactions did not know that they had consumed the prescription drug tadalafil or sildenafil and would be unable to advise their doctors of this information," Craig said.
Craig noted MFH didn't have a prior record but the company "had been involved with the authorities in the past" and that was an aggravating factor.
She also noted MFH didn't take responsibility for its offences or express remorse.
To deter MFS and other companies tempted to engage in a similar venture, Craig said the penalty imposed by the court had to be higher than the expected profit.
Based on evidence presented by the Crown, Craig found MFH's profit was $711,986.
She imposed an $800,000 fine for its sale of Harmony and $60,000 for its sale of Passion Fem.
She also imposed a $219,876.47 fine in lieu of forfeiture and a 24-month period of probation.
Banned from selling health products
During the period of its probation, MFH is banned from selling or advertising any health products.
The company is also banned from holding a licence, manufacturing, packaging or labelling any drug or natural health product or contracting anyone to do those things.
Finally, throughout its probation period, the company is required to have notices in English and Chinese up at all four of its stores telling its customers it knowingly sold Harmony and Passion Fem, which "deceptively" contained the prescription drugs tadalafil and sildenafil.
The notice warns customers that taking the products without medical supervision is dangerous and can cause "serious adverse health consequences and death."
The statement tells customers to stop using the products if they bought them and return the remaining capsules to the store for a full refund.
MFH is required to give all customers who return Harmony and Passion Fem a full refund and to forfeit the returned product to Health Canada.
Craig noted there were no precedents for sentencing a corporation for the offences MFH was found guilty of.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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