1.8 Million Bottles of Counterfeit 5-Hour Energy Seized

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.Living Essentials LLC, the distributor of 5-hour ENERGY®, recently shut down a counterfeit operation and filed lawsuits in U.S. federal district courts in California and New York. The company also executed court orders that permitted it to seize 1.8 million bottles of fake product from numerous locations, as well the machinery used by the counterfeiters to package the counterfeits.

As reported by Fortune, court documents revealed more than 1.8 million bottles of counterfeit 5-Hour ENERGY products were seized during raids authorized in late October by U.S. District judges in Brooklyn, N.Y., and San Francisco. Investigators found product in a majority of the states and at wholesale distributors in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The company is working with appropriate authorities, including law enforcement, to investigate and aggressively proceed against those involved in producing, distributing and selling counterfeit 5-Hour ENERGY®. According to the company, the counterfeit products included Regular Strength Berry, Extra Strength Berry and Regular Strength Orange. The packaging looks similar to the authentic energy shots, and counterfeiters used lot numbers that also appear on authentic 5-Hour ENERGY®, so both fake and some real bottles have these lot numbers.

"We are extremely upset that a group of alleged criminals preyed upon and profited from the loyal, hardworking customers who have come to rely on us to provide them with a high-quality product and the world's leading energy shot," said Scott Henderson, president of 5-hour ENERGY®.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing 13 fatality reports that were submitted to the agency by Living Essentials. This disclosure comes on the heels of news that FDA is investigating five deaths and one non-fatal heart attack in connection with Monster Energy drinks. Living Essentials issued a statement that said "reports of any potential adverse event tied to our products very seriously." FDA has said such reports are only considered allegations and that it draws no conclusions until investigations are completed.