Brea Herbal Company Founders Plead No Contest to Selling Drug-Laced Pills

The founders of a Brea herbal company accused of secretly lacing pills with highly addictive prescription drugs entered no contest pleas Thursday and agreed to pay more than $500,000 in fines.

John Chen, sister Sophie Chen and Allan Wang admitted to single misdemeanors, including advertising misbranded and adulterated food and passing commercial adulterated food, Deputy Dist. Atty. Byron Nelson told City News Service.

Their defunct corporation, BotanicLab Inc., pleaded no contest to the felony count of producing a product that presents a danger to the public, Nelson said.

The pleas resolved criminal charges and a civil case prosecutors filed again the individuals and company, but customers’ suits continue, Nelson said.

In all, the corporation agreed to pay $350,000, the Chens agreed to pay $50,000 each, and Wang will pay $60,000, he said.

The case dates back more than a year and centers mostly on PC SPES, which became popular among prostate cancer patients.

In February 2002, the state health department found that PC SPES contained elements of the blood-thinning drug warfarin, and that a separate compound, SPES, contained the anxiety drug alprazolam. Both are meant to be taken under a doctor’s supervision.