Utah Licensed Osteopathic Physician Indicted for Allegedly Receiving Misbranded Drugs from China and Selling them to Patients

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today against a Utah physician who allegedly received, recommended, delivered, and sold to his unwitting patients, misbranded drugs from China that were not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the allegations in court documents, Justin Bradley Watkins, 39, of Pleasant View, Utah, obtained misbranded drugs from China, specifically peptides that he knew were not FDA approved. Watkins obtained the drugs through a middleman between February 2024 to April 2025. The peptide orders included, among others, Tirzepatide, Semaglutide, Retatrutide, Cagrilinitide, BPC-157, TB500, Ipamorelin, CJC 1295, GHK, GHK-CU, and NAD+. Watkins purchased the peptides at a deeply discounted price, and knew they were not backed by proper, reliable testing and clinical trials. In furtherance of the fraud, Watkins made and affixed labels to vials and/or pill bottles before providing them to clinic staff. None of the labels disclosed the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor, as required by the FDA's Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). During the fraud period, Watkins recommended, provided, delivered, and sold misbranded, non-FDA-approved peptides to over 200 trusting patients.

Watkins is charged with receipt in interstate commerce and delivery for pay misbranded drugs with intent to defraud or mislead, and aiding and abetting. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for April 22, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

First Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), and the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL).

Assistant United States Attorney Mark Y. Hirata of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.