US businessman sells diseased organs to medical educators, gets 9 yrs in jail

"I hope you burn in hell," Smolka told him. "And when you get there, make sure to tell the devil I sent you."

Rathburn was not prosecuted for his treatment of human remains: U.S. law governs only body parts intended for transplantation, such as hearts and livers.

Rathburn was convicted of defrauding customers and violating hazardous shipping laws.

According to a government tally, Rathburn supplied unwitting medical educators with body parts infected with HIV or hepatitis at least 120 times from 1997 to 2013. The government's failure to stop Rathburn sooner, despite a decade of warning signs, was documented in stories Reuters published last year about the body trade.

Rathburn did not testify at the trial but spoke during the sentencing hearing, in his first public comments since his arrest in 2016. In a rambling statement, Rathburn denied that he intentionally misled those who bought or leased body parts from him. He blamed mistakes on others and portrayed his lab as "clean, perfect." He described himself as a visionary in the field - a scientist "ahead of his time."

"I know how some of you thought this was barbaric," Rathburn said of the body parts trade. "I can understand your point of view, but this was necessary."

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Neal said Rathburn's comments show that he has no remorse.

"Mr Rathburn has learned nothing from this experience. If permitted to leave prison any time soon, he will commit fraud again," Neal said. "Mr Rathburn believes he can talk his way out of anything."

Earlier, Rathburn's ex-wife, Elizabeth Rathburn, and one of the couple's suppliers, Steve Gore, were also convicted of fraud. Each pleaded guilty, was sentenced to probation, and testified against Arthur Rathburn. Gore ran the Phoenix-based Biological Resource Center, which sold more than 20,000 parts from some 5,000 human bodies over a decade. It closed in 2014, following a raid by the FBI.