Office of Criminal Investigations: Difference between revisions

The agency has come under scrutiny on multiple occasions. In 2010, director Terry Vermillion stepped down after allegations surfaced that he had abused his power.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703730304575633050712742496|title=FDA Official Retires Amid Inquiry|first=Alicia|last=Mundy|date=24 November 2010|publisher=|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref> In 2016, the agency was subject to scrutiny once again after Reuters news agency reported in a series of articles that the agency, under its new director George Karavetsos, had been potentially wasting resources by pursuing cases that lacked prosecutorial merit, often targeting legitimate drugs labelled for foreign countries and claiming that they were mislabelled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-fda-cases/|title=FDA criminal office's approach irks some doctors, agents|website=Reuters}}</ref>

According to Reuters, critics have argued that many of these cases posed little threat to public health and that many cases failed to show any clear signs of criminal intention on the part of the alleged perpetrators. Furthermore, evidence surfaced of agents acting in a threatening and aggressive manner. Shortly after Reuters published these articles, the [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|House Committee on Energy and Commerce]] launched a review of the agency.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fda-congress-idUSKCN11R1E4|title=House committee launches review of FDA criminal office|first=Sarah N.|last=Lynch|website=Reuters |date=21 September 2016 |publisher=}}</ref> The following January, under circumstances reminiscent of Vermillion's resignation in 2010, Karavetsos stepped down, not disclosing his reasons for doing so.