PHILADELPHIA – A Collegeville man was convicted Friday in federal court of running a years-long scheme to defraud pet owners out of money by falsely claiming to sell drugs that could cure canine cancer. A federal jury convicted Jonathan Nyce, 73, of fraud and the interstate shipment of misbranded animal drugs in December 2022.
He defrauded approximately 900 pet owners out of nearly $1 million, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero.
Nyce was sentenced to 97 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500 special assessment, Romero announced.
In carrying out the scheme, Nyce created several companies, including “Canine Care”, “ACGT” and “CAGT”, through which he assumed to develop drugs aimed at treating cancer in dogs. Beginning in 2012, using various websites for these companies, the defendant marketed these “cancer-curing” medications to desperate pet owners, using the drug names “Tumexal” and “Naturasone,” according to the release.
The websites made numerous false and fraudulent claims regarding the safety and effectiveness of these supposed drugs, including that “Tumexal is effective against a wide variety of cancers,” and “[i]In fact, Tumexal almost always restores the appetite, spirit and energy of a dog affected by cancer! In reality, these drugs were nothing more than a collection of coarse ingredients from various sources, which the defendant mixed in a facility on Arcola Road in Collegeville.
In addition, through e-mails and phone conversations, Nyce induces owners of terminally ill dogs to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for these drugs, touting the effectiveness of their products in treating a host of canine cancers, the release said.
He also told potential customers that their animals could become part of clinical trials, but to do so, they would have to pay large sums of money. Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant sold nearly $1 million worth of drugs to approximately 900 different victims.
The marketing, sale and shipment of these drugs by the defendant violated the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of the Food and Drug Administration, because the drugs are not approved by the FDA. Defendant also falsely stated in promotional materials that his company’s research was “funded in part by the United States Food and Drug Administration.”
“In buying these worthless ‘drugs’ from desperate pet owners, Jonathan Nyce’s actions were both criminal and cruel,” Romero said. “He deliberately exploited people’s emotions, their love for their sick dogs, only for his own financial gain. Many people consider dogs members of their families, so they are especially vulnerable to such schemes. To deceive and his victims and thumbing his nose at the FDA, justice demanded that Mr. Nyce be held accountable.”
“The FDA’s animal drug approval process ensures that our animals receive safe and effective products. Ignoring FDA requirements and selling unapproved drugs to vulnerable U.S. consumers will not be tolerated,” he said. George A. Scavdis, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will aggressively pursue and bring to justice those criminals who put profits above the health and safety of animal patients.”
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher E. Paris.
