(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – A Pottawattamie County man who illegally sold thousands of doses of controlled substances and mis-branded prescription drugs was sentenced last week in eastern Iowa, to 15 months in federal prison, fined and ordered to forfeit over $500,000 in drug proceeds.

Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reports a judge handed-down the sentence against 57-year-old Jon Stidham, of McClelland, after Stidham plead guilty on January 5, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to deliver, distribute or dispense methyltestosterone, a Schedule III controlled substance, by means of the Internet without a valid prescription and without complying with federal and Iowa licensing requirements, and one count of conspiracy to introduce mis-branded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead and to commit mail fraud.

In addition to his jail time, Stidham was fined $7,500 and was ordered to forfeit $527,510 worth of drug proceeds. He will also have to serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

In a plea agreement, Stidham admitted that he operated a business called Kennel Supply, LLC.  Kennel Supply provided a variety of items used for the operation of kennels and the care of farm animals at a brick-and-mortar location.  On the Internet, Kennel Supply sold controlled substances and non-controlled prescription drugs that require prescriptions to lawfully dispense to the ultimate user.

From 2015 through October 12, 2018, Stidham distributed and sold over 300,000 doses of methyltestosterone, a controlled substance, without valid prescriptions, profiting $324,303.  During that same time-period, Stidham illegally distributed over 50 types of misbranded prescription drugs without a valid prescription or authorization, and illegally profited $203,207.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.