Woman Recants Story of Syringe in Can of Pepsi, Won’t Be Prosecuted

An Anaheim woman who reported finding a syringe in a Pepsi can will not be charged with product tampering, a federal official said Thursday, because the woman “decided not to follow through with her story.”

Officials of the Food and Drug Administration told Judith Ann Barackman, 51, that a violation of the federal Anti-Tampering Act carries with it a sentence of up to five years in jail and a possible $250,000 fine, FDA spokeswoman Rosario Vior said.

“In this case (Barackman) has decided not to follow through with her report,” Vior said. “Therefore, the U.S. attorney will not follow up with charges.”

On the evening of June 14, Barackman walked into a Lucky Market in the 2500 block of East Imperial Highway with a Pepsi can in her hand and asked to see the manager, said a store spokesman who asked not to be identified. She was carrying a 12-ounce can of regular Pepsi and told the manager she had found a syringe in it.

The manager called Brea police, who came to the store and took a report. The next day the Police Department issued a news release describing the incident.

Barackman could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Her claim came about a week after complaints of hypodermic needles in cans of Pepsi and Diet Pepsi began popping up around the nation. The first report came from the Seattle-Tacoma area. There were more than 50 reports filed in 23 states.

On June 15, after evidence had mounted that the claims were hoaxes, the first arrest was made in Pennsylvania. Since that time, at least 20 other people have been arrested on federal tampering charges, Vior said, including three in Southern California.

In the latest arrest, a San Diego grocery store clerk was charged Thursday in federal court with filing a phony report about finding a syringe in a can of Diet Pepsi.

Yousef Ismail, 23, a clerk at Somerville’s Country Market in Fallbrook, was being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lieu of $25,000 bail. Ismail surrendered after being notified that an arrest warrant had been issued.

U.S. Atty. James Brannigan said Ismail had called a sheriff’s deputy last week to say that he had found the syringe. He repeated his story to an official of the Food and Drug Administration. Brannigan declined to say whether Ismail has since recanted.

Others have recanted their stories, the FDA’s Vior said.

“When informed of the law, some people decide not to pursue the report any further,” Vior said.

Hall reported from Anaheim and Perry from San Diego.