62 Sunoco gas stations in Michigan sued for illegally selling Viagra

Marc Daalder | Detroit Free Press

Sixty-two Sunoco gas stations all over southeast Michigan were named Monday in a federal lawsuit over allegations that they sold Viagra without prescriptions and under misleading circumstances.

Outlaw Laboratory, a Houston-based company that has filed similar lawsuits across the country, argued in its filing in Detroit federal court today that the 62 Sunoco stations are wrongfully selling Viagra supplements as "all-natural" male enhancement supplements.

Outlaw makes competing produces that meet strict FDA regulations and claims unfair competition and false advertising, according to a press release.

Robert Tauler, a Los Angeles-based attorney who is representing Outlaw, said at a press conference Monday at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel that the station owners are purchasing the supplements from "criminals."

Tauler claimed that pills containing sildenafil — the active ingredient in Viagra — are manufactured cheaply in China and then sold to retailers in the U.S. for $1 or $2 per pill. Gas stations and other buyers then mark them up 500% and earn "$10,000 a year in profits," Tauler said.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has attempted to clamp down on the illicit activity but because the manufacturers aren't registered, above-ground businesses, so they can outmaneuver the government. Tauler related an anecdote in which the FDA ordered gas stations to stop selling "Rhino 8 8000" and the manufacturers made new packaging that said "Rhino 8 14000" to get around the order.

Only individual gas stations are named in the lawsuit. Tauler said that while Sunoco LP isn't liable, it does have the power to instruct these stations to stop selling the pills.

The lawsuit asserted that not only is this unfair competition with Outlaw's own male enhancement pills — which don't contain sildenafil — but it is also dangerous to men who are unwittingly taking prescription-strength drugs. Tauler said that one person has died in connection to the medication, but that instance is still under investigation.