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A 59-year-old Keizer man has been ordered to pay Pfizer Inc. more than $90,000 for lost Viagra pill sales after he was convicted of selling counterfeit Viagra on Craigslist between March 2013 and January 2016. (AP Photo/Pfizer Inc., William Vazquez)

A 59-year-old man who sold knock-off Viagra pills online will spend eight months on home detention, five years on probation and make monthly payments to fulfill $91,071.68 in restitution to the drug's lawful manufacturer, a federal judge ordered Friday.

Christopher Stella of Keizer pleaded guilty to trafficking in the counterfeit erectile-dysfunction drug on Craigslist between March 2013 and January 2016.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford said Stella also sold fake Levitra and Cialis pills online.

Stella took immediate responsibility after agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at his home, according to the prosecutor.

That's partly why Bradford recommended a sentence below the 12-month to 18-month prison term recommended under federal sentencing guidelines for the offense.

"Mr. Stella was very cooperative. He saved the government a lot of time and resources,'' Bradford said. "We did not determine any of these pills ever damaged anyone or caused any harm.''

Stella will pay the restitution in $75-a-month increments to Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of Viagra, for its lost market price sales, Bradford said.

Assistant federal public defender Michelle Sweet, who represented Stella, unsuccessfully argued against any home detention.

Stella has been "very regretful'' and "extremely ashamed'' since the search warrant was served, Sweet said. The restitution is significant considering his limited means and alone will remind him daily "just how serious this conduct was," she said.

Stella, standing before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown, said he's made only a couple of poor decisions in his life. "This was certainly the worst of all,'' he said.

Facing financial difficulties, "I had a lapse in judgment. It affects me everyday. It was just out of character for me.''

Brown credited Stella for his early and complete acceptance of responsibility, but added, "There's a consequence to pay for committing a felony crime.''

Stella had no idea really what he was selling to others, the judge noted.

To deter him and others from committing the same offense - "a crime that has the risk of impacting public safety,'' the judge imposed the eight-month home detention as part of his five-year probation sentence.

It will be up to Stella's probation officer whether to order Stella be fitted with a GPS monitoring anklet during his home confinement, the judge said.

Counterfeit drugs are manufactured using incorrect or harmful ingredients, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They're then packaged and labeled to look like real brand-name and generic drugs.

"Combating the trafficking of counterfeit goods that pose a safety threat to consumers -- to include misbranded or counterfeit pharmaceuticals -- is a significant part of ICE Homeland Security Investigations' mission,'' said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for the Western region of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Brian Widener, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Portland, said usually counterfeit drug traffickers import the fake drugs from overseas and then resell them online.

"These illicit counterfeit drug traffickers put the public's health and safety at risk, and it affects our U.S. economy,'' Widener said.

Stella's probation sentence is "not necessarily a stiff sentence but if we can stop someone selling dangerous drugs, we've done our job,'' Widener said.

There's no telling what effect the fake Viagra can have, he said. "The government has testing set in place for a reason to make sure drugs are manufactured in clean conditions,'' he said.

"If Viagra says it can keep an erection up to four hours, maybe the illicit drug could be a full-day time deal,'' Widener said.

Homeland Security Investigations urges consumers to buy such drugs from legitimate, reputable physicians or pharmacies.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian