Brothers from India sentenced in Seattle for selling fake, contaminated medicine to U.S. patients

Two brothers from India were each sentenced to 30 months in prison for a scheme to sell counterfeit and adulterated drugs in the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced Thursday.

Kumar Jha, 39, and Rajnish Kumar Jha, 36, were both arrested in Singapore on April 20, 2023, and extradited to the U.S. in February 2025. They were subsequently sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Indian brothers smuggled contaminated drugs into the U.S.

The investigation into the Jha brothers began in 2019, and investigators reviewed postings on the internet and other evidence that indicated that the two Jha brothers and their company, Dhrishti Pharma International, had offered to sell prescription drugs in the U.S.

Undercover agents in the Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) were tasked with communicating with the Jha brothers and purchasing some of their products.

The primary concern in the investigation was the sale of counterfeit medication labeled as Keytruda, a Merck drug used for late-stage cancer. Analysis concluded that the Jha brothers were selling fake drugs, labeled Keytruda, that contained none of the ingredients that the authentic product included.

“When this investigation began, the first vial of medicine shipped to the undercover agent was not the cancer-fighting drug Keytruda at all but rather over-the-counter heartburn medicine in a bottle labeled as Keytruda,” Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Miller said. “Keytruda’s active ingredient — the substance that could add months or even years to the lives of terminal cancer patients — was totally absent.”

The Jha brothers shipped their counterfeit and adulterated drugs from India into the U.S. and accepted various means of payment, including wire transfers and direct money exchanges.

The DOJ mentioned that in certain cases, the brothers used intermediaries in the U.S. to pick up cash payments, along with packaging the drugs in a way that would avoid detection by international customs or other regulators.

“Americans expect and deserve drugs that are safe, effective, and that meet appropriate standards for quality, yet these individuals distributed counterfeit prescription drugs to vulnerable cancer patients,” Special Agent in Charge Robert Iwanicki, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Los Angeles Field Office, said.

Jha brothers plead guilty

A judge in Singapore ruled in January 2025 that the Jha brothers could be extradited to the U.S. for their crimes, and both defendants entered guilty pleas to one count of smuggling in June 2025.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Kopczynski asked for a 30-month sentence for the Jha brothers and wrote to the court about how impactful the brothers’ actions were on each victim.

“Exporting counterfeit medicines is a cruel business that robs ill people of any hope for relief. Cancer patients unknowingly using fake Keytruda would have no chance of improvement with their terminal disease,” Kopczynski wrote. “The defendants profited by peddling counterfeit Keytruda and many other drugs, all in contravention of numerous U.S. laws and regulations that are meant to keep people safe. Regrettably, schemes like this one are not unique.”

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez ordered a $50,000 fine for each defendant and will consider in August whether to impose $81,596 in restitution to Merck for the expenses incurred by testing fraudulent drugs for law enforcement.

“It is important to send a deterrence message to anyone who might send adulterated drugs into any country,” Martinez said.

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