Berkeley Nutraceuticals Leader Gets 25 Years

CINCINNATI—What do misleading advertisements and shady credit card transactions win a convicted criminal? Well, Steve Warshak, founder of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in such fraudulent business practices, which federal officials say swindled consumers out of more than $400 million dollars. Warshak and company were charged with deceptive ads for Enzyte, a sexual performance product, as well as for an automatic credit card charging scheme that took money from customers without letting them return or cancel orders.
Overall, Warshak was charged with more than 90 counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and was fined $93,000 in addition to his prison sentence; his company has been ordered to hand over $500 million in profits in separate judgment. Declaring the case was about greed, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Spiegel prefaced the Warshak's sentencing with a statement about how the self-proclaimed "Smiling Bob" preyed on customers' sexual deficiencies and tried to defend himself by claiming the customers did not publicly complain.
Warshak was denied bail during pending appeal of his conviction and has until Sept 29 to surrender to prison.
UPDATE: Berkeley lawyer Paul Kellogg, a long-time Warshak friend, became the final defendant sentenced in this case, receiving a one-year prison sentence for his money laundering and obstructing justice convictions earlier this year.