LOS ANGELES – Operation “Cat Eyes,” which targeted the illegal sale of contact lenses that pose a risk to eyesight, resulted in federal charges against Los Angeles-area retail outlets as well as their owners and managers, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday.
The defendants allegedly sold contact lenses without prescriptions – some of which were contaminated with dangerous pathogens, authorities said.
Two criminal informations filed Friday morning, as well as four additional informations filed on Tuesday, charge a total of 12 defendants with the illegal sale of decorative and cosmetic contact lenses, officials said.
The defendants are each facing misdemeanor charges and up to a year in prison and up to a $100,000 in fine.
All six cases allege that the defendants sold “misbranded” contact lenses without prescriptions.
Two of the cases also allege that the defendants sold adulterated contact lenses that were contaminated with bacteria known as bacillus cereus. According to court documents, the bacillus cereus bacterial strain can cause severe infections that, even with prompt treatment, can lead to blindness.
The cases filed this week are the result of an investigation that was conducted by the Food and Drug Administration’s Import Operations Branch of the Los Angeles District Office.
Operation Cat Eyes targeted retail stores – some of which were opened specifically for Halloween – that sold cosmetic and decorative contact lenses without a prescription to unsuspecting consumers in Southern California.
Contact lenses – whether corrective, cosmetic or decorative – are considered to be prescription medical devices subject to FDA regulations. Due to the risk of injury, blindness and possible eye infection, all contact lenses require prescriptions from medical professionals who can provide guidance on the proper care and maintenance of the contact lenses.
The six cases filed this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles charge these defendants:
- Halloween and Party Discounters, Inc. (which operated as a booth at the Los Angeles Fair in Pomona)
- Mike Honabach, 45, of Highland, the owner of Halloween and Party Discounters, Inc.; Intertrade Imports, Inc., a Jacksonville, Florida company
- Eunju Kang Savvidis, 53, of Jacksonville, the manager of Intertrade, were charged with one count of introducing adulterated devices into interstate commerce for selling bacteria-adulterated lenses at the County Fair (Honabach and his company were charged in two additional counts with receipt of bacteria-adulterated contact lenses and with sale of misbranded contact lenses).
- Aspirational International, Inc., a Hong Kong corporation that was charged with offering misbranded contact lenses for sale through the Internet.
- Doris Owusu Ansah, 54, of West Covina, the owner of Sunset Beauty Salon in West Covina, who is charged with selling a misbranded pair of contact lens on October 16;
- Jung Rae Jo, 60, of Cerritos, the owner of Fashion Young in Westminster, who allegedly sold four pairs of misbranded contact lenses to two undercover FDA investigators on Oct. 14.
- CKL Fashion, Inc. (a Corona-based company that operates T-Shirt Mart in Glendale) and its manager, Young Kim, 51, of La Crescenta, who allegedly sold two pairs of misbranded contact lenses to an undercover FDA investigator on October 14
- HTS General, Inc. (doing business as the Halloween Superstore in Glendale.)
- Zinaida Khrimyan, 25, of Glendale, the owner of HTS
- Patrick Abedi, 30, of Glendale, the store manager for HTS, who allegedly sold a pair of misbranded contact lenses on October 14.
All defendants will be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles on Dec. 9. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.