Final conviction in phony erectile-dysfunction pills case involving Stanislaus County defendants

A Los Angeles man on Monday was convicted of trafficking counterfeit erectile-dysfunction pills in a federal case involving Stanislaus County defendants.

John Derek Gitmed, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, according to the U.S. Attorneys’s Office in Sacramento. Gitmed was in custody, and he is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 19. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine.

Gitmed was the last of four defendants charged with participating in the counterfeit pills scheme.

Federal prosecutors said Gitmed’s ex-wife, Holly Gitmed, 39, of Riverbank; his daughter Felicia Gitmed, 24, of Los Angeles; and his nephew Anthony Pollino, 37, of Modesto have each pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The prosecutors said the defendants conspired to sell the counterfeit drugs to costumers throughout the state and in the Las Vegas area.

The counterfeit drugs were packaged to appear like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra pills. The prosecutors said the defendants assured buyers their products were genuine, when they were actually cheaply made foreign copies of the drugs. They said the defendants operated as a business, calling their operation the “California Confidence Company.”

Holly Gitmed is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 24; Felicia Gitmed is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25; and Pollino pleaded guilty is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5.

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Final conviction in phony erectile-dysfunction pills case involving Stanislaus County defendants."