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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 30-year-old man who admitted illegally importing and selling counterfeit contact lenses across the U.S. without a prescription has been sentenced in Las Vegas to nearly four years in federal prison.
Prosecutors said former Candy Color Lenses owner Dmitriy Melnik was sentenced Wednesday to 46 months for his guilty plea in September to conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan also ordered Melnik to pay $200,000 in restitution and forfeit $1.2 million in proceeds derived from the sales.
Melnik admitted importing lenses from China and South Korea and selling them under labels such as Ciba Vision FreshLook COLORBLENDS, Cool Cosmetic Tornado B, and Innova Vision ColorMaker, ColorNova, Magic, Dragon Gold and Picasso.
Prosecutors say Melnik admitted that some lenses were substandard, and some were found to be contaminated with potentially dangerous bacteria.
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