Man Accused of Counterfeit-Drug Sales : Crime: Costa Mesa woman’s alertness leads to arrest of Palm Desert resident. Retin-A was one of the drugs allegedly sold.

A Palm Desert man accused of selling counterfeit prescription drugs that had been smuggled into the United States and distributed in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties has been arrested by federal authorities, officials said Wednesday.

James Dickson Irving, a Canadian citizen, was arrested by federal agents for the alleged illegal sale of counterfeit prescription drugs through the World Health Imports company he founded.

Authorities were tipped off to Irving’s operation by a Costa Mesa woman who saw a 1989 newspaper advertisement for Retin-A skin care medicine marketed by World Health Imports.

The unidentified woman was aware that Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. in New Jersey is the only manufacturer in the United States that makes the drug. She contacted Ortho authorities, who then arranged for her to make a buy from Irving’s outfit. Working with federal officials, the woman and an undercover agent purchased additional amounts of Retin-A from Irving for several hundred dollars.

Irving is accused of selling seven types of illegal drugs in Southern California and across the country, officials said. Of the bunch, only Retin-A has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for sale in the United States, and only Ortho has been licensed to manufacture it. It is illegal to sell the others. They include Premarin, an estrogen prescribed for menopause symptoms in women, and Zumba, a type of sex stimulant that contains anabolic steroids and herbs.

H. Dean Steward, head of the federal public defender’s office in Santa Ana, said the allegations are unique because of the types of drugs involved. Steward, who is representing Irving, compared the case to that of steroid smuggling and distribution because the drugs aren’t necessarily harmful, but are illegal for use in the United States.

“It’s really, really rare,” he said of the case. “We are looking forward to checking on the importability of each drug, but it is too soon to tell what our defense will be.”

In court documents, the federal government accused Irving of selling imported counterfeit trademark drugs to undercover government agents without a physician’s license or drug prescription. In addition, U.S. Customs agents monitored Irving’s phone calls in which he reportedly discussed smuggling illegal prescription drugs into the country for distribution and sale through his company, the document said.

Court papers also said Irving deposited $115,375 worth of money orders and checks made out to World Health Imports into five personal bank accounts during a 10-month period in 1989 and made periodic cash withdrawals in each account to maintain balances. In addition, Irving had a post office box and dozens of storage lockers in the city of Brea, authorities said.