South Amboy couple admit selling illegal bodybuilding drugs

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ – A South Amboy husband and wife have pleaded guilty to a scheme to market and distribute more than $3 million worth of mislabeled and unapproved new drugs, the U.S. Attorney announced Wednesday. Phillip Sellinger.

Sylvia Kovaleski, 43, of South Amboy, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to distribute mislabeled drugs and unapproved new drugs. Her husband, Keith Kovaleski, 57, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Monday this week.

Federal prosecutors say the Kovaleskis owned and operated All-American Peptide (AAP). From 2014 to January 2019, AAP used its website to market and distribute substances primarily used by bodybuilders and other bodybuilders to enhance performance and alleviate the side effects of performance-enhancing substances.

The Kovaleskis, through their company’s website, sold prescription drugs such as tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis; SARMS, used by bodybuilders as an alternative to steroids; peptides, also used as performance-enhancing substances, and other drugs that had not been approved for human use. For example, they sold clenbuterol, a drug sold in foreign markets but not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Prosecutors say the Kovaleskis used their basement in South Amboy as a manufacturing facility to make and label AAP products, including homemade capsules containing tadalafil doses significantly higher than the highest recommended dose.

The Kovaleskis did not provide adequate directions for use of their products, such as frequency of administration, dosage information, or warnings about side effects.

As part of their plea deals, the Kovaleskis must give up more than $3 million in proceeds of crime.

The sentencing of the two defendants is scheduled for July 26.

They risk up to five years in prison.