Blome Research Lawsuit Update: Civil Forfeiture and Seized Assets

The Blome Research lawsuit is, as of mid-June 2026, a federal civil asset forfeiture action rather than a criminal prosecution. On June 3, 2026, federal agents seized four pieces of real estate and a collection of vehicles and equipment from the two southwest Missouri men behind the online seller of Chinese-sourced weight-loss chemicals. No criminal charges have been filed against either operator, but prosecutors allege the seized property was bought with proceeds from selling misbranded pharmaceuticals through the mail.¹²

Who Ran Blome Research

Blome Research was operated by Casey Crider and Jason Huston, both from the Joplin, Missouri, area. Neither man held a pharmacy license. The website sold what it described as peptides, including semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic), tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro), and retatrutide, a drug the FDA has not approved for any use. Products were advertised as “100% pure” and backed by third-party testing from a California laboratory.¹

Federal court filings say the business shipped more than 31,000 packages through the U.S. mail between 2023 and 2025 and deposited at least $15 million into bank accounts during that period. The products were sourced from China and redistributed to customers across the country.³¹

What the Government Seized

Agents executed seizure notices on June 3, 2026, at three locations: Huston’s home in Carl Junction, Missouri; a second Huston property on Hottel Springs Road near Seneca; and Crider’s property on Kentucky Road, also near Seneca.¹

In all, four pieces of real estate were seized along with cars, trucks, all-terrain vehicles, construction equipment, an SUV, a Tesla Cybertruck, and a high-end autocycle. Prosecutors allege each was purchased with revenue from the misbranded weight-loss product sales.²¹

Civil Forfeiture, Not Criminal Charges

As of June 9, 2026, neither Crider nor Huston has been formally charged with a crime. The current action is a civil forfeiture proceeding, which targets the assets themselves rather than the individuals. The scope of the two-year investigation and the size of the seizure suggest criminal charges could follow, but none have been announced. The Blome Research website appears to have been taken offline.¹

How the Case Was Built

The investigation began in September 2024, when Crider messaged a pharmacist on Facebook offering to sell tirzepatide, noting that the pharmacist was “not the FDA.” The pharmacist forwarded screenshots to the Missouri Board of Pharmacy. An undercover Board employee then contacted Blome Research and confirmed that products were manufactured in China and tested by a third-party California lab. The Board issued a cease-and-desist letter to both men. They did not comply.¹

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service then took over. Postal Inspector Paul Shade said the agency became involved because the items being mailed were “fraudulent,” which gave USPIS jurisdiction over crimes that “touch the mail.” Agents monitored the shipping activity for roughly two years, executing search warrants on packages and finding what filings describe as “misbranded pharmaceuticals” along with retatrutide, a substance that cannot legally be manufactured or distributed outside of clinical trials.³⁴

In November 2025, an undercover federal agent contacted Crider for weight-loss guidance. According to court filings, Crider responded with specific injection technique and dosage instructions, which prosecutors describe as acting as a pharmacist without a license. At least one additional undercover purchase followed in early 2026.¹

What Blome Research Customers Should Know

No formal refund process or victim notification system has been established for Blome Research customers as of mid-June 2026.⁵

The products themselves sit in a regulatory gray area. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are FDA-approved when prescribed and dispensed through legitimate channels, but the versions Blome Research sold came from China and shipped without prescriptions, proper labeling, or medical oversight, which is why filings classify them as misbranded. Retatrutide is in a different category entirely: the FDA has stated it “has not been found safe or effective for any condition,” and the only lawful way to obtain it is through enrollment in a clinical trial.¹⁴

The Wider Enforcement Context

Blome Research is one piece of a broader federal and state push against unregulated GLP-1 sales. In February 2025, attorneys general from 38 states and territories sent the FDA a letter urging stronger action against retailers selling GLP-1 ingredients directly to consumers under “research purposes only” labels.⁶⁷⁸

Across these cases, regulators have consistently taken the position that a “research use only” label offers no legal protection when the products are sold in ways that clearly encourage human consumption. Investigators say Crider provided dosage and injection instructions to undercover agents, and that conduct appears central to the government’s forfeiture theory.¹

1
St. Louis Magazine. Black Market Ozempic China Bust
2
AOL News. USPS Authorities Conducting Huge Seizure
3
Yahoo News. USPS Authorities Conducting Huge Seizure
4
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA’s Concerns About Unapproved GLP-1 Drugs Used for Weight Loss
5
FOX4 Kansas City. Missouri Woman Warns of Dangers of Online Weight Loss Drugs
6
National Association of Attorneys General. State and Territory Attorneys General Urge FDA to Take Action Against Counterfeit and Illegally Sold GLP-1 Drugs
7
Connecticut Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Tong Sues GLP-1 Weight Loss Drug Distributor Triggered Brand
8
CBS News. Experimental Weight Loss Drug