Canadian man sentenced for Internet cancer drug fraud

PHOENIX - The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday that a Canadian man was sentenced in Phoenix to nearly three years in prison for selling counterfeit cancer drugs on the Internet.

Hazim Gaber, of Edmonton, Alberta, was indicted by a federal grand jury in June, 2009 on five counts of wire fraud or selling counterfeit cancer drugs through the website DCAdvice.com. Authorities say he was arrested in July, 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany.

According to a news release, Gaber admitted selling what he claimed was the experimental cancer drug sodium dichloroacetate, also known as DCA to dozens of victims in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands in 2007.

He apparently also admitted to selling more than 800 pirated copies of business software.

According to the plea agreement, over $100 for 100 grams of the fake drug that was later determined to contain starch, dextrin, dextrose or lactose, and contained no DCA.

In Wednesday's sentencing, the judge ordered Gaber to pay a $75,000 fine as well as $53,724 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release following his 33-month prison term.

"Gaber used the Internet to victimize people already suffering from the effects of cancer," said Dennis K. Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. "Now he will go to prison for this bogus business and heartless fraud."