Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Unapproved Drugs on the Internet

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scott Edward Cavell, 35, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to one count of causing misbranded drugs to be introduced into interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between 2015 and 2017, Cavell, with others, developed a scheme to market and sell a drug, 2,4-Dinitrophenol (also known as DNP), as a weight loss drug and “fat burner” despite knowing that DNP is unapproved by the FDA as a substance for human consumption. Cavell sold DNP in pill form and called it a fertilizer — a term under which is it legally sold in other circumstances.

DNP has been commercially used to manufacture dyes and wood preservatives, as a fertilizer, and as a pesticide. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared that DNP is too toxic to be used for human consumption under any circumstances.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hemesath is prosecuting the case.

Cavell is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4, 2019, by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. Cavell faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.