CHICAGO - According to federal criminal charges filed today, a doctor in the Chicago area illegally used a veterinary catheter to perform intrauterine insemination on his patients.

A criminal information submitted to the U.S. District Court of Chicago accused JOEL G. BRASCH of illegally using veterinary catheter equipment on his patients from 2016 to 2018. These devices are considered adulterated because they have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in human patients.

Dr. Brasch, 61, from Skokie, Illinois, is responsible for receiving and delivering adulterated equipment in interstate commerce. This charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in federal prison and a fine of up to 100,000 U.S. dollars. There is no arrangement for a subpoena in the Federal Court.

The allegation was announced by Federal Attorney John R. Rausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois; Lynda M. Burdelik, Special Agent for the Office of Criminal Investigation in the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Emmerson Buie, Jr. , Special Agent for the Chicago Office of the FBI. The Office of American Affairs Management provided valuable help. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Streicker and Corey B. Rubenstein.

"The use of veterinary equipment in medical procedures such as IUI poses a threat to the health and safety of patients," said US Attorney Rausch. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who endanger public health through the use of adulterated medical equipment."

"In procedures such as IUI, protocols should be strictly followed at every step to protect the health and safety of patients and ensure the effectiveness of the procedures," said FDA SAC Burdelik. "Using equipment designed for human animals puts patients at risk. We will continue to investigate those who use unapproved devices on human patients and bring them to justice."

FBI SAC Buie said: "Our citizens trust healthcare professionals very much, and the public should be confident that the FBI and our partners will work tirelessly to ensure that this trust is not misplaced."

Remind the public that information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial. In the trial, the government has the responsibility to prove guilt without reasonable doubt.