Indian national sentenced for conspiring to sell counterfeit cancer drug

HOUSTON – A 45-year-old foreign national has been ordered to federal prison for his role in selling tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of counterfeit oncology pharmaceuticals into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Sanjay Kumar pleaded guilty Oct. 30, 2025, to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.

U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal has now ordered Kumar to serve 43 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by a one-year term of supervised release. In imposing the sentence, the court noted the cruel nature of Kumar’s conduct, commenting that he had intentionally marketed a drug that was intended for people who thought they were extending their lives, and instead, they received “junk.” Judge Rosenthal further ordered him to pay a $58,823 money judgment. 

“When a patient takes a drug to treat a medical condition, they expect it to be legitimate, effective, and safe. When victims are instead sold worthless counterfeit medicine, it undermines not only their own health outcomes, but also public confidence in the American medical system as a whole,” said Ganjei. “The conduct in this case was particularly depraved because Kumar was selling false hope to those battling cancer, knowing full well his fugazi drugs would do nothing to help against this life-threatening disease. The Southern District of Texas will find and punish any person who, like Sanjay Kumar, attempts to make a quick buck by endangering patients’ lives.”

From August 2018 to June 2024, Kumar and others arranged the sale of counterfeit versions of the cancer drug Keytruda valued at tens of thousands of dollars.

Keytruda is an FDA-approved immunotherapy used to treat melanoma and Hodgkin lymphoma as well as lung, head, neck, gastric, cervical and breast cancers. Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, formerly Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., holds the exclusive right to authorize the manufacture and distribution of genuine Keytruda.

The counterfeit medication was chemically inconsistent with real Keytruda and did not contain the active ingredient necessary for the drug to serve its medical purpose, thereby making it wholly ineffective. The packaging was also counterfeit and closely resembled trademarks registered to Merck.

During an undercover operation, Kumar attempted to sell additional quantities of counterfeit Keytruda. He admitted he knew the drugs would not work to treat cancer and described them as “just like water.”

Kumar and others received approximately $89,268 for the sales of the fake drug.

Kumar has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

ICE-HSI conducted the investigation with assistance from FDA.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorneys Ethan Cantor, Bryce Rosenbower and Jeff Pearlman of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.