Collegeville Man Sold Fake Drugs, Claimed Dog Cancer Cure: Feds

COLLEGEVILLE, PA — An insidious scheme by a local man capitalized on the fears of residents with terminally ill dogs, authorities said.

Jonathan Nyce, 70, of Collegeville, made hundreds of thousands of dollars by peddling drugs that purported to cure canine cancer, according to the US Attorney's Office. Authorities said the drugs were bogus.

The years-long scheme began back in 2012, as Nyce utilized several different companies to market the drugs, according to officials. Some companies included "Canine Care," "ACGT," "CAGT," and more. The fraudulent drugs had names like "Tumexal" and "Naturasone," and his advertising methods went as far as to claim that the research was "funded in part by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."

Websites which Nyce established used fake testimonials to fool grieving dog families, including "Tumexal is effective against a wide variety of cancers,” and “Tumexal will almost always restore a cancer-stricken dog’s appetite, spirit and energy," authorities said.

In reality, the drugs were nothing more than a collection of bulk ingredients blended together by Nyce in his Arcola Road home in Collegeville, according to the US Attorney's Office.

Officials said that Nyce also used phone and email conversations to personally convince victims of the effectiveness of his fake drugs.

Nyce faces charges of wire fraud and interstate shipment of misbranded animal drugs.

Nyce's indictment was announced on Tuesday, Feb. 4 and he faces a maximum of 32 years in prison and a $1,250,000 fine.