An 80-year-old former lottery winner has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for running a large-scale counterfeit drug empire from his rural home.
John Eric Spiby, who won £2.4 million (approximately $3.28 million) on the national lottery, used his winnings to build a multimillion-dollar operation producing fake pharmaceutical tablets. The criminal enterprise, which involved his son, distributed millions of counterfeit pills over several years, generating an estimated turnover of €335 million (~$400 million), according to prosecutors.
Authorities described the operation as highly organized and industrial in scale, despite being based in a quiet, rural location. At the height of his criminal activity, Spiby reportedly boasted that tech billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos “best watch their backs,” highlighting the audacity of the operation.
The investigation eventually uncovered the network, leading to Spiby’s conviction and prison sentence. The case illustrates how even seemingly ordinary individuals can orchestrate complex, high-revenue criminal schemes over an extended period.
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