The Justice Department, working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced today that recent enforcement actions against unauthorized flavored e-cigarettes led to the seizure of more than 2.1 million illicit vaping products from five distributors and six retailers across seven states.
In seizure complaints and court filings submitted in U.S. District Court, the government stated that the targeted distributors and retailers had previously received FDA warnings that their electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products needed premarket authorization before they could be sold legally. According to those complaints, recent FDA inspections and undercover purchases by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) revealed that the companies kept selling or distributing unauthorized ENDS products.
The U.S. Marshals Service, ATF agents, and other law enforcement partners carried out the seizures, supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA.
“These dangerous and unauthorized vapes are often smuggled in from China to be sold near schools and military bases, putting our kids and service members directly at risk,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This is a national security issue, and this month’s raids are just the beginning. Working with our partners at HHS, we will prosecute anyone participating in the illegal sale of these products.”
“Along with our partners, the U.S. Marshals seized and removed from the marketplace more than 2 million non-FDA approved products from five warehouse distribution centers and six retail locations across the country,” said Director Gadyaces S. Serralta of the U.S. Marshals Service. “This operation is a great example of the U.S. Marshals Service and its partners joining forces to protect our youth and to Make America Healthy Again.”
“The vaping products seized by the United States Marshals Service threatened the health and safety of our communities and undermined the integrity of statutory and regulatory safeguards designed to protect consumers, including our nation’s youth,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois, where one of the largest seizures occurred. “Americans expect and deserve that prohibited products never make their way on consumer shelves, and that other products are lawfully marketed and comply with all federal laws and regulations. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure illegal products never enter the stream of commerce and pursue all possible civil and criminal remedies against those who violate federal laws and regulations.”
The Justice Department also filed civil injunction actions against the distributors and retailers where the seizures took place to prevent future violations. The complaints claim that the defendants continued selling adulterated and misbranded tobacco products despite FDA warnings that they were breaking the law. The injunctions were filed against the same businesses targeted in the seizures, along with related individuals, including:
- Tampa Vapor, a Tampa, Florida company, and its owner, Michael R. Synychak, filed in the Middle District of Florida;
- Progressive Retail Inc., doing business as Rainbow Food Mart, a Tampa, Florida company, and its president, Varun Chawla, filed in the Middle District of Florida;
- Bouslimi Holdings, Inc., doing business as Marathon/Food Center, a Tampa, Florida company, and its president, Imed Bouslimi, filed in the Middle District of Florida;
- A Joint Effort, Inc. doing business as Blvd Smoke Shop, a Miami, Florida, company, and its officer and director, Husam Bahhur, filed in the Southern District of Florida;
- Calle 8 Petroleum LLC, doing business as UGAS/Circle K, a company based in Miami, Florida, and its owner, Rashid A. Saeed, filed in the Southern District of Florida;
- Smoke House Sunset, a company based in Los Angeles, California, and its owner, Ali Masoud, filed in the Central District of California;
- D&A Distribution, LLC, doing business as Strictly E-Cig, a corporation based in Savannah, Georgia, and owner Robert S. Ali, filed in the Southern District of Georgia;
- PSM101, LLC doing business as Center Point Distributors, a corporation based in South Plainfield, New Jersey, and its owner Niravkumar G. Vora, filed in the District of New Jersey;
- B&G Trading LLC doing business as Vaportech Wholesale, a corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona, and its co-owners Ataman Bilgin and Hasmet Girgin, filed in the District of Arizona;
- Midwest Goods Inc. doing business as Midwest Distribution and Midwest Distribution Illinois, a corporation based in Bensenville, Illinois, and its owner and CEO, Kamran Yasin, filed in the Northern District of Illinois; and
- Dream Distro LLC, a company based in Garner, North Carolina, and its owner, Faisal A. Alhadrami, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
An additional injunctive action was filed in the District of New Jersey against Gorilla Vapes LLC, along with its co-owners Nick Jurczyk and Russell Jurczyk.
Under federal law, ENDS manufacturers must undergo premarket review for new tobacco products and secure FDA marketing authorization before selling them through interstate commerce. In each seizure case, the court issued a warrant allowing officials to seize unapproved vaping products that lacked proper authorization.
The cases are being handled by Trial Attorneys Coleen Schoch, James T. Nelson, Roger Gural, Zachary L. Cowan, and Pauline A. Stamatelos from the Justice Department’s Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, under the leadership of Sarmad Khojasteh, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. They are receiving support from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott D. Heffron (Northern District of Illinois), Carlos Raurell (Southern District of Florida), Joseph Bozdech (District of Arizona), and other AUSAs nationwide. Attorneys from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel and the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel also contributed critical assistance.
For more details about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
The claims announced today are allegations only. No court has determined liability.
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