PORTLAND, Maine — A Westbrook woman was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to one month in prison for adulterating a food item — namely a bottle of fish oil capsules — with intent to defraud.
Kathy Jordan, 61, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of adulterating a food product.
By pleading guilty, Jordan admitted that she bought a bottle of fish oil capsules, face cream and shampoo from a retail pharmacy store near her home on April 3, 2012, according to court documents. She returned all three items the next day for a full refund.
A week later, the bottle of fish oil capsules was resold to another customer, court documents said. That customer discovered the bottle contained other pills besides fish oil and returned the bottle to the pharmacy.
The pharmacy determined that some of the fish oil capsules had been removed and replaced with stool softener capsules and Dilantin, a prescription anti-seizure medication.
Jordan told investigators she returned the bottle of fish oil capsules after substituting some of the fish oil with other drugs in her home so she could get a full refund.
Jordan faced up to three years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000.
Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the recommended sentence was between 10 and 16 months.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Chapman urged U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen to impose some jail time. Federal Public Defender David Beneman recommended 30 months of probation.
In addition to prison time, Torresen sentenced Jordan to a year of supervised release and ordered her to pay $6.29 in restitution.
The charge against Jordan was the result of an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration and Office of Inspector General, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.