Michigan man gets 21 months for 'research' semaglutide sales

A federal judge in Grand Rapids sentenced Brandon Piper, 35, of Gobles, Michigan, to 21 months in prison on July 23, 2026 for conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud and mislead, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan announced. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker said the sentence “was designed to send a message to Piper and to the public about the consequences of ignoring the FDA and the law,” according to the release.

What prosecutors described

According to sentencing filings summarized by DOJ, Piper “helped perpetrate an extensive scheme to import unapproved, misbranded prescription drugs, including peptides … into the United States from China for distribution to customers.”

• Customers bought first on a Canadian website and later on Piper’s own site, MilestonePurity.com.
• Both sites said the drugs were “for research purposes only,” though Piper and his co-conspirators “knew that customers would be using them personally.”
• Many products claimed to be a “Product of the USA” although they were bought from China.
• Examples included semaglutide and tirzepatide, sold without prescriptions and “without adequate directions for use.”

DOJ noted that approved semaglutide and tirzepatide carry a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors, “the strongest warning FDA requires,” and that “Piper’s drugs omitted these warnings.”

What officials said

U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said the foreign drugs “lacked any kind of quality control and could have contained anything,” and that his office “will always treat people like Piper just like street level drug dealers.” FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office, investigated the case.

Co-defendant

DOJ said co-defendant Mayze Nichols was scheduled to be sentenced on related charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent on September 15, 2026. Her own case, United States v. Nichols (1:26-cr-00040), was filed on April 21, 2026 as a Class A misdemeanor information. The public docket shows she pleaded guilty to two counts and that sentencing was set for September 15, 2026; the copy we checked was last updated June 19, 2026 and shows no later entries. As of October 19, 2026 we have not found a DOJ release or other public record of the outcome. We will add it if one appears.

The pattern

The case follows the same template as other prosecutions of “research” sellers: the disclaimer is treated as part of the deception, not a defense. See our explainers on research-use-only labels and importing peptides. Two months later, a Connecticut jury convicted another “research compounds” seller (report).