Pharmaceutical President Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison, and Company Guilty, in Counterfeit Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

A Florida-based pharmaceutical president pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

Adam P. Runsdorf, 57, of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit drugs, and money laundering conspiracy.

He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison.

According to the indictment, from April 2014 until August 2021, Runsdorf, the owner and president of Woodfield Pharmaceutical LLC based in Boca Raton, Florida, conspired with drug traffickers in Houston, Texas, to distribute misbranded and counterfeit cough syrup. Runsdorf’s company pleaded guilty to the same charges today.

According to information presented in court, Byron A. Marshall, 43, of Houston, utilized Woodfield Pharmaceutical’s manufacturing facility and employees in Houston to produce more than 500,000 pints of counterfeit cough syrup. Marshall’s drug trafficking organization sold the counterfeit drugs across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Arkansas, and Ohio. Prices generally ranged from $100 to more than $1,000 per one-pint bottle. Depending on the market and brand of cough syrup, prices went as high as $3,800 to $4,000 per pint.

During the conspiracy, Marshall communicated directly with Runsdorf regarding production of the counterfeit cough syrup. At Runsdorf’s request, Marshall paid Woodfield Pharmaceutical in cash only, and Woodfield employees mailed the cash directly to Runsdorf in Boca Raton.

Six codefendants, including Marshall, have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Runsdorf faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

“In April 2014, Actavis Holdco US discontinued production of Actavis cough syrup due to its widespread abuse by recreational drug users,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “After that, the street value of Actavis increased to more than $3,000 per pint. In his greed, Adam Runsdorf, owner and president of Woodfield Pharmaceutical, used his position and connections to enable drug traffickers in Houston to produce thousands of gallons of counterfeit Actavis, labeled to be nearly identical to the discontinued product. The conspirators in this case sought to capitalize on the scarcity of Actavis and other prescription cough syrups by marketing counterfeit versions to street-level abusers.”

“Today Adam Runsdorf pled guilty for his role as the CEO of Woodfield Distributors to illegally distributing thousands of controlled substances into our communities, Runsdorf misused the privilege granted by the DEA to handle controlled substances by conspiring with street level drug dealers to manufacture fake drug labels to help drug dealers profit,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division Daniel C. Comeaux.