Executives with Contract Manufacturer Duracap Labs Indicted on Steroid Distribution Charges

John Wesley Houser IV and Beny Mesika, the top executives and founders of the dietary supplement contract manufacturing company Duracap Labs, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on several charges related to the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids. Houser and Mesika were charged with two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (anabolic steroids), two counts of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and seven counts of money laundering.

DuraCap Labs is a GMP-compliant and FDA-registered contract manufacturer of dietary supplements that include encapsulated, tableted and powdered products. The main business of DuraCap Labs did not involve marketing its own line of dietary supplements. Instead, its core business was related to formulating, manufacturing, creating and distributing private label supplements for a variety of other sports nutrition companies. DuraCap Labs promoted supplement companies such as Blunt Force Nutrition, Alpha Male Formulations (AMF), Prime Nutrition and Silverback Nutrition.

Unfortunately, DuraCap manufactured and distributed some products on behalf of its clients that were really synthetic anabolic steroids illegally masquerading as dietary supplements. Specifically, the Department of Justice identified methasterone (aka Superdrol) as one such scheduled III controlled substance that was the active ingredient in two products linked to Duracap.

Duracap was the contract manufacturer behind Blunt Force Nutrition's “Mass Destruction” and AMF's “Mutant Plexx”. Each product contained synthetic steroids that were illegal to sell as dietary supplements.

In December 2013, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to avoid purchasing “Mass Destruction” after a 28-year old man who used the product suffered complete liver failure and required a liver transplant. The man had reportedly been healthy prior to using Mass Destruction. Liver failure resulted after using the product for several weeks. 

The Duracap executives allegedly conspired with Joseph De Melo, the owner of Rezultz Distribution to distribute illegal synthetic steroids. De Melo was not named as a defendant in the current indictment. However, De Mel was ordered to pay $650,000 and serve 15 months in prison last year for intentionally misbranding dietary supplements which really contained vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis). He was also caught distributing AMF's Mutant Plexx and Swoll-250 (cited as containing Methasteron) as well as Wyked Labs' Estrastrain (cited as containing Madol).

De Melo was scheduled to start serving his 15-month prison sentence in the summer of 2015. However, the Department of Justice has allowed him to delay going to prison for some reason. It is not known whether or not De Melo is cooperating with federal prosecutors in the Duracap case.

Houser and Mesika are presumed to be innocent but if they are convicted, they face considerable time in prison.

Source:

Myers, S. (July 12, 2016). Two Duracaps Labs executives have been indicted. Retrieved from http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/blogs/sports-nutrition/2016/07/fda-doj-steroid-sweep-charges-two-more-sports-nut.aspx