Judge Delays USPlabs Criminal Trial

A high-profile criminal prosecution against a manufacturer of sports supplements was set to go to trial in January 2017, but a judge in Dallas has pushed back the trial date in response to a joint request for a continuance.

It was a year ago that the U.S. Department of Justice announced an 11-count indictment against USPlabs LLC, a manufacturer of workout and weight loss supplements, as part of a nationwide sweep to crack down on illegal activity by supplement companies.

Federal Judge Sam A. Lindsay recently vacated the trial date of Jan. 23, 2017 and reset the trial for Oct. 10, 2017. In his Oct. 31 order, the judge indicated he would not grant further continuances short of “exceptional or extraordinary circumstances."

In a motion filed in October requesting a continuance, the parties described the criminal case against USPlabs and other defendants as a “complex" one, “involving two corporations and six individuals and conduct stretching back years." The government has already produced hundreds of thousands of pages of discovery, the motion noted.

The parties said they anticipated the trial would involve dozens of witnesses and last for weeks.

Federal authorities alleged USPlabs falsified documents to evade regulatory agencies, doctored labeling and marketing materials, and made misrepresentations to persuade retailers to sell its products. USPlabs informed some of its retailers and wholesalers that it used natural plant extracts in its popular products—Jack3d and OxyElite Pro—but the company was actually using a synthetic stimulant made in a Chinese chemical factory, the indictment alleged.

USPlabs, whose OxyElite Pro supplement was tied to a 2013 hepatitis outbreak in Hawaii, has denied the allegations.