Selling Fake Cancer Drugs For Dogs Lands Collegeville A Conviction

PHILADELPHIA, PA —A 73-year-old Collegeville man was convicted Friday by a jury of selling a bogus mixture that he blended together as a cure for cancer to 900 pet owners for nearly $1 million.

Jonathan Nyce was convicted of of wire fraud and the interstate shipment of misbranded animal drugs following a trial before U.S. District Judge Wendy Bettlestone.

Nyce was charged in February 2020 marketing drug named "Tumexal" and "Naturasone" on website with names including of companies, including "Canine Care," and selling the mixture in a facility on Arcola Road in Collegeville.

Nyce represented himself in trial.

U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in a prepared statement that when beloved pets become sick, caring owners look for treatments that can offer hope to keep their pet alive and comfortable.

“Jonathan Nyce took advantage of that bond between pet and owner by defrauding customers and giving them false hope that they might be able to save their dying pet," Romero said. "That is both cruel and illegal, and we hope this verdict brings his victims a small measure of justice for their suffering.”

According to court records:

• The defendant used various websites for these companies beginning in 2012, marketing the drugs as “cancer-curing” medications to desperate pet owners.
• The drugs were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as required by law.
• He also told prospective customers that their pets could become part of clinical trials, but in order to do so, they had to pay him large sums of money.

“The FDA’s animal drug approval process ensures that our pets receive safe and effective products," said George A. Scavdis, special agent with the FDA office of criminal investigations Metro Washington field office.