NYC Mother and Son Charged with Interstate Shipment of Misbranded Animal Drugs

PHILADELPHIA – United States Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Bien King, 70, of Congers, NY and Khalil King, 36, of New York, NY were charged by indictment with conspiracy, distribution of unregistered and misbranded pesticides, and interstate shipment of misbranded animal drugs.

The indictment alleges that Bien King and her son, Khalil King, jointly operated a business called “Little City Dogs,” based in New York City. The defendants purchased unapproved animal drugs and pesticides, including ivermectin, nitenpyram, praziquantel, and fipronil, from various Chinese suppliers. The defendants’ Chinese suppliers routinely mislabeled the shipments to avoid inspection by United States Customs and Border Protection inspectors. According to the indictment, once the defendants received the shipments from China, they used various locations, including a Manhattan office, to mix and repackage these drugs and pesticides for resale to customers throughout the United States. According to the indictment, the defendants’ company received over $4,000,000 from the sale of these misbranded, unregistered, and unapproved pesticides and animal drugs.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum possible sentence of 19 years in prison, up to 3 years of supervised release, a $1,450,000 fine, and a $550 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher E. Parisi.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.