A half dozen people and six companies are facing federal charges in Los Angeles for allegedly selling contact lenses without prescriptions, prosecutors said Friday.
The 12 defendants charged in six federal cases with the illegal sale of decorative and cosmetic contact lenses resulted from Operation “Cat Eyes,” an investigation conducted by various local and federal health and consumer agencies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
All six cases allege that the defendants peddled misbranded contact lenses because they were sold without prescriptions.
Two of the cases also allege the defendants sold adulterated contact lenses contaminated with bacteria known as Bacillus cereus.
According to court documents, the Bacillus cereus bacterial strain can cause severe infections that, even with prompt treatment, can lead to blindness.
The operation targeted retail stores, some of which were opened specifically for Halloween, that sold cosmetic and decorative contact lenses without a prescription to unsuspecting consumers in Southern California.
Contact lenses — whether corrective, cosmetic or decorative — are considered to be prescription medical devices subject to federal health regulations. Due to the risk of injury, blindness and possible eye infection, all contact lenses require prescriptions from medical professionals who can provide guidance on the proper care and maintenance of the contact lenses.
The defendants are:
— Halloween and Party Discounters, Inc., which authorities say operated as a booth at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona;
— Mike Honabach, 45, of Highland, the owner of Halloween and Party Discounters, Inc.;
— Intertrade Imports, Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla. company;
— Eunju Kang Savvidis, 53, of Jacksonville, the manager of Intertrade, was charged along with the company with one count of introducing adulterated devices into interstate commerce for selling bacteria-adulterated lenses at the county fair.
— Honabach and his company were also charged with counts of receipt of bacteria-adulterated contact lenses and with sale of misbranded contact lenses.
— Aspirational International, Inc., a Hong Kong corporation, was charged with offering misbranded contact lenses for sale at http://www.colorlens4less.com;
— Doris Owusu Ansah, 54, of West Covina, the owner of Sunset Beauty Salon in West Covina, was charged with selling a misbranded pair of contact lens on Oct. 16;
— The owner of Fashion Young in Westminster, 60-year-old Jung Rae Jo, of Cerritos allegedly sold four pairs of misbranded contact lenses to two undercover federal investigators on Oct. 14.
— CKL Fashion, Inc., a Corona-based company that operates T-Shirt Mart in Glendale, and its manager, Young Kim, 51, of La Crescenta, were charged with selling two pairs of misbranded contact lenses to an undercover FDA investigator on Oct. 14; and
— HTS General, Inc., which does business as the Halloween Superstore on North Glendale Avenue in Glendale; owner Zinaida Khrimyan, 25, of Glendale and store manager Patrick Abedi, 30, of Glendale, were charged with selling a pair of misbranded contact lenses on Oct. 14.
Each of the 12 defendants have been order to appear in Los Angeles federal court for arraignment on Dec. 9.
All of the charges filed in the operation are misdemeanors carrying sentences of up to a year in federal prison and fines of no more than $100,000 for individuals and up to $200,000 for corporations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
— City News Service