SAN DIEGO -- The founder and former president of San Diego-based Metabolife pled guilty on Monday in federal court to making false statements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Michael J. Ellis, 54, told the FDA in a 1999 letter that the company had a "claims free history." The U.S. Attorney's Office said Ellis knew the statement was false.

In 2002, Metabolife turned over reports of more than 10,000 ephedra-related adverse events the company had previously withheld to the FDA and the U.S. Department of Justice.

At the time of Ellis' letter, the FDA was considering whether to regulate products with ephedra more stringently. The agency later banned the dietary supplements with the substance. A federal appeals court upheld the ban in 2006.

Ellis faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.