Paradigm Peptides owner sentenced to 70 months in prison

A federal judge in South Bend, Indiana, sentenced Matthew Kawa, owner of the online business Paradigm Peptides (Paradigm R.E. LLC), to 5 years and 10 months in prison on July 30, 2026, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. His sister and the business’s main employee, Jennifer Stechkober, received 1 year and 4 months. Both pleaded guilty on December 10, 2025.

The court also ordered one year of supervised release for each, and restitution of $78,317.52, jointly and severally.

What the government said the business did

DOJ’s case page says Paradigm sold peptides, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) from Michigan City, Indiana, to “thousands of customers throughout the United States.” Investigators found that “many of the products advertised, labeled, and sold to customers as containing SARMs in fact contained testosterone,” a controlled substance. They also concluded the SARM, hCG and peptide products were unapproved new drugs.

CBS News, which covered the hearing, reported that:

• Kawa pleaded guilty to selling unapproved drugs and illegally importing them.
• Prosecutors estimated 54,000 unique customers in all 50 states and 80 countries.
• Kawa agreed to forfeit $5 million in proceeds.
• He admitted the company forged laboratory certificates.
• His plea agreement states: “I knew that Paradigm’s products were being marketed and sold for human consumption.”

Judge Cristal Brisco told Kawa he had ignored “numerous warnings” from regulators, CBS reported.

Why this case matters to anyone reading a COA

The case is one of very few criminal sentences for a seller of peptides labeled “for research use.” It also involved forged certificates of analysis. A certificate is only evidence if it can be checked against the lab that supposedly issued it and against the lot in your hand. Our explainer on how to verify a COA walks through that check.

Copycat domains

CBS reported that a different domain, paradigmpeptides.is, uses similar branding. In an email to CBS, that operator said it has “no affiliation whatsoever” with Kawa’s former business. We have not investigated that site and make no claim about it.

DOJ’s case page asks anyone who bought from Paradigm Peptides between April 2019 and March 2024 and believes they are a victim to contact the office’s Victim Witness Specialist at 219-937-5500.