Zachary T. Lee Acting United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
A federal grand jury in Abingdon, Virginia has indicted Bryce Cleveland, the President and CEO of Scalpa, Inc., on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and related offenses. The indictment alleges that Cleveland and his company sold skincare products that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Cleveland, 42, who resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, appeared in court for the first time in the Western District of Virginia after being arrested last month. He was apprehended in Colombia and later taken into custody in Florida by the United States Marshals Service based on an outstanding federal warrant.
The indictment states that Scalpa was incorporated as a for-profit business in Arizona in 2015. The company marketed medical devices and drug products designed to affect human body structure and function. These included items such as the Fibroblast Pen, Hyaluron Pen, Hyaluronic Acid, and Scalpatox.
According to prosecutors, between 2018 and December 2020 Cleveland devised a scheme to enrich himself unlawfully by marketing unapproved devices like the Fibroblast Pen and Hyaluron Pen to consumers while representing that these products were not regulated. The indictment further alleges that he concealed or caused others to conceal from consumers that these products were indeed regulated. It is also alleged that Cleveland introduced an unapproved new drug called Scalpatox into commerce.
Cleveland faces a total of 34 counts: 12 counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, 12 counts related to introducing adulterated devices into interstate commerce, and one count concerning introduction of an unapproved new drug.
Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia; Ronald Dawkins, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge at United States Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division announced the charges.
The case is under investigation by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations with help from the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corey Hall and Randy Ramseyer along with Department of Justice Trial Attorney Justus Hogge are prosecuting.
“An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
