A 31-year-old Tennessee man accused of creating and selling bodybuilding drugs from his Kalispell business called Rat’s Army yesterday pleaded guilty to a federal charge of introduction of unapproved drugs into interstate commerce in U.S. District Court.
Tyler Jordan Hall, of Greenville, Tenn., entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto. He faces a maximum of three years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release.
Sentencing has been scheduled for May 15 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. Hall was released pending further proceedings.
According to court documents, Hall from June 2020 through March 2022 imported, created, bottled, and labeled drugs through his business called Rat’s Army, LLC. He marketed the drugs to bodybuilders and the fitness community to increase muscle mass, reduce body fat and counter the unwanted side effects of other bodybuilding drugs.
Hall regularly introduced the unapproved new drugs containing Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) and other active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) into interstate commerce. The substances were not safe for human use except under the supervision of a practitioner licensed to administer prescription drugs.
Some of the drugs were comparable to Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs that require special boxed warnings in their labeling, emphasizing potential side effects like pulmonary embolism, records state.
Hall obtained proceeds of approximately $3,805,470 from Rat’s Army, which included the sale of Raloxifene, Tamoxifen and Pramipexole in interstate commerce.
During the business’s operation, Hall falsely portrayed his products as “research chemicals” and “not for human consumption,” despite knowing and intending that the products were for human ingestion to affect the structure and function of customers’ bodies, according to documents.
Hall also defrauded consumers by posting misleading Certificates of Analysis on the website to convince customers the products were legitimate and safe.
Knowing the substances required prescriptions, Hall falsely claimed, “you do not need a prescription” or “access to a pharmacy or pharmacist” to obtain products through Rat’s Army. He also advertised Rat’s Army as a “pharmaceutical manufacturing” business, but he was not a pharmacist, he did not employ a licensed pharmacist, and he never registered Rat’s Army with the FDA.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FDA conducted the investigation.