Luzerne County Woman Charged with Tampering with Consumer Product
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 20, 2013 |
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a felony information has been filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton against Yolanda Holman, age 35, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, charging her with tampering with a consumer product that affected interstate commerce.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the information alleges that on or about August 23, 2013, Holman knowingly and intentionally tainted a bottle of non-prescription children’s pain reliever with prescription pills and other medication and caused it to be taken to a retail store in Wilkes-Barre as a returned item.
U.S. Attorney Smith stated that suspected tainted containers related to this incident were recovered and were in the possession of law enforcement officers or otherwise destroyed. The tainted containers present no danger to the public.
If convicted, the defendant could be imprisoned for 10 years and fined in the amount of $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Scranton Resident Office. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
Indictments and criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 10 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances, and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational, and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.