A 41-year-old Austin bookkeeper has admitted he helped move millions of dollars in so-called "poppers" that prosecutors say were disguised as household products and shipped around the country for people to inhale and get high.
Brett Sandy pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to conspiracy charges tied to more than $8 million in alkyl nitrite products that authorities say were illegally sold as "cleaning" supplies. The case is part of a broader federal push to crack down on sellers who dress up volatile inhalants as innocuous items and quietly mail them across state lines.
Plea and charges
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sandy pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal conspiracy. One count involves violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the other involves violating the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Federal prosecutors say Sandy worked for an Austin-based manufacturer from January 2019 until about February 2025. Over that stretch, the company took in more than $8.4 million from sales of products that contained alkyl nitrites and were allegedly mislabeled to hide what they really were. In its announcement, the department warned that volatile alkyl nitrites "can cause serious and sometimes fatal health effects."
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
Court filings describe a line of products sporting playful brand names such as "love potion" and "pumpkin spice latte." Despite the flirty labels, the bottles were shipped as "tape cleaner," a description that prosecutors say was meant to dodge regulators and make the products look like ordinary household supplies.
As reported by FOX 26 Houston, prosecutors say Sandy handled bookkeeping duties, processed orders, and lined up bulk sales. One cited transaction involved hundreds of bottles allegedly destined for distribution at a "sexy singles party." Those same filings underlie Sandy’s guilty plea and grew out of a joint enforcement effort led by the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission that targeted mislabeled inhalant products.
Health risks and warnings
The Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly warned that nitrite "poppers" are not harmless party favors. Regulators say the products can be caustic and may trigger breathing problems, seizures, sharp drops in blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, coma, and death.
The agency urges consumers not to buy or use nitrite "poppers" and to report any bad reactions through FDA complaint channels. Medical resources such as WebMD note that alkyl nitrites are chemically related to drugs used to treat chest pain, but emphasize that they are unsafe when misused as recreational inhalants.
What’s next
Under the plea agreement, Sandy acknowledged that evidence shows the company sold more than $8.4 million in unlawful products and admitted he helped facilitate sales at events, the Justice Department says. The DOJ notes that he pleaded guilty to both conspiracy counts and now faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison on each count, although the court has not set a sentencing date.
The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations is continuing to investigate the case, and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting it. For now, it remains unclear whether any additional defendants or company officers will be charged.
