United States Attorney General Eric Holder praised the Justice Department’s use of terrorism laws to disrupt the illegal distribution of human growth hormone (hGH) during his remarks at a Justice Department leadership conference. Holder celebrated the use of the Patriot Act to eliminate a top supplier of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). The Patriot Act law “permitted” the United States to pursue an international biopharmaceutical company and seize millions of dollars “physically located” in another sovereign country.
The successful asset forfeiture codenamed Operation Honor Student resulted in the forfeiture of $2.7 million dollars by Lei Jin, PhD and his company Genescience Pharmaceutical (GeneSci). Jin and GeneSci were indicted as part of Operation Raw Deal in 2007. The defendants were charged with illegally marketing and distributing human growth hormone over the internet to bodybuilders, athletes, and pharmacies Read more
The FBI investigation codenamed Operation Phony Pharm remains active and may seek to prosecute additional individuals selling anabolic steroids according to court documents recently filed in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut. Attorney Matthew Maddox publicly reveal prosecutors’ intentions in a March 9, 2009 sentencing memorandum filed on behalf of his client, Corey Stanford. This is surprising news since all nine defendants associated with Operation Phony Pharm have already pleaded guilty as of June 2008: Edwin F. Porter (June 2008), Brian S. Tompkins (June 3, 2008), Brian W. Jeffery (May 5, 2008), Corey Stanford (April 14, 2008), Tyler J. Lunn (March 24, 2008), Walter T. Corey (February 2008), Alan R. Blair (September 24, 2007), Matthew J. Peltz (September 27, 2007) and Hiroshige Cranney (May 21, 2007).
Corey Stanford (of Austin, Texas) was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 7, 2008 well after all other Operation Phony Pharm defendants had pleaded guilty. Stanford’s plea agreement called for 8 to 14 months imprisonment; Stanford’s attorney did not feel a downward departure was warranted at the time. However, this all changed when sentencing was delayed for 9 months so that Stanford could engage in “an intensive cooperative relationship with the federal government.” This represented an unusual move for prosecutors who had secured guilty convictions for all indicted defendants. Operation Phony Pharm, by all appearances, appeared to be nearing its conclusion. This suggests that prosecutors in the United States Attorney’s Office in Connecticut may seek additional steroid-related indictments, possibly in Texas. Read more
Kenneth Hebert and his common-law wife Leticia Zamora, owners of TexStar Labs and Phalco Labs, faced United States District Judge David Hittner for sentencing on January 28, 2009. Hebert was senteced to four years imprisonment (or double the term of imprisonment advocated by prosecutors) whereas Zamora withdrew her guilty plea after Judge Hittner denied her probation deal with the government (”Pearland man gets prison for at-home steroid factory,” January 28).
A Pearland man who ran a major anabolic steroid factory in his house was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Wednesday, but his wife withdrew her guilty plea and opted to go to trial.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Kenneth Hebert to about twice what prosecutor Peter Mason had suggested for distributing the performance-enhancing drug, made of ingredients from China.
Hebert and Zamora both pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the illegal operation of a large-scale underground anabolic steroid laboratory out of their Houston-area home. The couple manufactured raw steroid powder into oral and injectable steroid products that were distributed under the TexStar Labs and Phalco Labs label. The steroid case represented one of the largest UGL steroid busts resulting from Operation Raw Deal.
The couple decided to spend their available funds to hire an attorney from the Montalvo Law Firm to represent Leticia Zamora and provide her with the best opportunity to avoid prison time so that she could raise the couple’s two young children, ages five and seven; Kenneth Hebert was represented by a federal public defender.
President Barrack Obama may think the federal investigations into anabolic steroids should not be a top priority for the government, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) strongly disagrees. The DEA emphasized that steroids are “extremely dangerous” and respresent a significant threat to public health during a recent press briefing involving the sentencing of Operation Raw Deal defendants (”Pearland couple to be sentenced for operating major steroid pill mill,” January 27).
“It’s not just a drug that can be taken lightly,” explained DEA Special Agent Violet Szeleczky. “It’s something that we still consider extremely dangerous to the public and we’re going to investigate it to its fullest, just as if it were heroin, cocaine or marijuana.”
DEA Special Agent Violet Szeleczky promised to treat anabolic steroid cases no differently than cocaine or heroin cases when it comes to allocating agency investigative resources. Agent Szeleczky made these comments in relation to the sentencing of one of the largest underground labs (UGLs) busted during Operation Raw Deal.
The International Olympic Committe (IOC) is pressuring the United Kingdom (UK) to criminalize the personal use of anabolic steroids prior to the 2012 London Olympics. The mere possession of anabolic steroids and/or the importation of steroids for personal use is not an offense under UK law. Consequently, athletes (and bodybuilders) in the United Kingdom can technically use anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) without violating UK law. But this may soon change in the next few years if the IOC has their way (”IOC pressure Great Britain to change doping laws ahead of London Olympics 2012,” November 8).
The IOC are growing increasingly frustrated at Britain’s refusal to introduce legislation to outlaw the possession, supply and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs.
Their stance leaves them out of step with other European countries such as Sweden, France, Italy, Greece and Germany where anti-doping laws mean athletes and their suppliers can go to jail.
Great Britain’s refusal to blindly follow the trend towards the internationalization of steroid law taking hold in the rest of the European Union presents a significant threat to the moral authority of the IOC. The IOC has promoted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code as the guide for certain moral offenses that should be criminalized. Read more
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Drug Section seized over 2 kilograms of anabolic steroid powder at a residence in Prince George, British Columbia on Halloween. A joint operation between the Prince George RCMP and Canadian Border Services Agency uncovered the steroid powder coming into Canada from China. The recipient of the Chinese steroid powder faces various drug distribution charges including the importation of a controlled substance (anabolic steroids) into Canada (”Police execute Halloween drug bust,” November 1).
In the past two weeks alone, law enforcement in British Columbia has arrested individuals for importing and/or distributing anabolic steroids in Victoria, North Vancouver, and now Prince George. Are the recent steroid busts a harbinger of a major steroid crackdown in British Columbia in preparation for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games? The privilege of hosting the Olympic Games is usually accompanied by increased pressure on the host city (and host country) to step up their anti-doping efforts via law enforcement.
Jeffrey J. Rock, better known as Gavin Kane in the bodybuilding world, was recently sentenced to 5 years probation and 15 months community and home confinement for his role in the Internet distribution of Jintropin human growth hormone in the United States. Jeffrey Rock operated as an internet HGH source using the alias Propeptides. He marketed human growth hormone to bodybuilders through Gavin Kane Enterprises and RockHard Physique and related websites, GavinKane.com and Propeptides.com.
Jeffrey Rock aka Propeptides was one of the major players involved in the distribution of Jintropin brand human growth hormone in the United States; he worked directly with GeneScience Pharmaceuticals in China to import/smuggle and distribute HGH to bodybuilders in the U.S. Rock was indicted on six charges including one count of smuggling human growth hormone into the United States, two counts of distribution of growth hormone and three counts of money laundering. Rock faced a total of 60 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. He faced 20 years in prison for the single count of smuggling HGH alone under federal sentencing guidelines.
The man that law enforcement officials identified as running a “steroid factory” in his basement has pleaded guilty to to possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and unlawful possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He sourced steroids over the Internet using email accounts in the names of gearhustle@cyber-rights.net and gearhustle@safe-mail.net (”Sayreville man admits running steroids lab in his basement,” September 9).
Alfred Scarpa admitted possessing and planning to distribute 40,000 doses of anabolic steroids. He also admitted illegally possessing two .40-caliber handguns in violation of a law prohibiting convicted felons from having guns.
Alfred Scarpa was arrested in a steroid bust during the height of Operation Raw Deal raids by federal agents. DEA agents searched the New Jersey home of electrician Alfred Scarpa on September 20, 2007 after obtaining a search warrant. Agents discovered a fully operational underground steroid lab in “plain view” inside his house, locked in the basement; large quantities of steroid tablets were also discovered in “plain view” hidden inside a cabinet. Read more
Bryan Wilson of Pro Pharm Laboratories pleaded guilty to federal steroid distribution and money laundering charges as a result of Operation Raw Deal. Bryan Wilson and with his ex-wife, April Wilson, partnered illegally in the underground steroid business as well as legally in the “Smoothie Shop” located inside the Maximum Edge Discount Sport Supplement Store in Columbia.
Investigators amassed significant evidence in the case including the use of a confidential informant on ChemicallyEvolved.com to contact and purchase steroids from “Pro Pharm” as well as video surveillance of April Wilson shipping multiple steroid packages at the local post office. Bryan Wilson was arrested in September 2007 at a Kansas City UPS Store when he picked up approximatel one kilogram of steroid powder imported from the Qingdao province in eastern China; vials of Pro Pharm Labs trenbolone, testosterone, and oxandrolone inexplicably included a Kansas City zip code on the label as well (”Columbia man pleads guilty to charges of distributing anabolic steroids,” August 25).
Bryan Wilson’s plea agreement includes details about shipments delivered to his home from companies connected to steroid manufacturing, including a company that sells conversion kits used to turn testosterone powder into an injectable steroid. According to the agreement, investigators used a confidential source to contact Bryan Wilson through e-mail to order anabolic steroids.
The plea agreement also states that multiple bank accounts shared since 2002 by Bryan and April Wilson were used to conceal drug trafficking profits alongside income from the business they co-owned.
Bryan Wilson could face up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million, according to the news release. The plea agreement states that Wilson will be sentenced at a later hearing.
Operation Raw Deal was the largest steroid law enforcement action in the history of the United States; it resulted in steroid busts involving 56 underground labs including Texstar Labs, Phalco Labs, Powerline Labs, Superior Labs, Medline Pharmaceuticals and Pacific Rim Labs. The steroid busts had a significant impact on underground steroid labs in the United States. But the United States exterted their heavy-handed political influence on other countries to adopt similar law enforcement actions against steroid users and steroid dealers. The nine other countries that worked in conjunction with the United States during Operation Raw Deal were Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Thailand.
Australia has been one of the leading cheerleaders of United States steroid law. They worked closely with the United States during Operation Raw Deal and executed their own large-scale steroid law enforcement action dubbed Operation Kasha Read more
Mikal Gunn Schrage aka Maverick, of Nixa, Missouri, pleaded guilty to steroid-related charges in an agreement with federal prosecutors on Friday, July 18, 2008, Mikal Schrage was indicted as part of Operation Raw Deal (and regionally under Operation Juice Box) in 2007 on 26 counts related to possession, conspiracy importation, manufacture and distribution of anabolic steroids as well as money laundering. Even with a plea agreement, Maverick still faces significant prison time and financial penalties (”Nixa man admits role in steroid conspiracy,” July 19).
Under federal statutes, Schrage could be subject to a sentence of 28 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Schrage was the owner of an underground lab in Missouri that imported raw steroid powder from China and manufactured steroids for distribution on the Internet and elsewhere under the label Powerline Laboratories (PL); Powerline was purportedly a Mexican veterinarian pharmaceutical company complete with Spanish text on the labels. Powerline advertised various oral and injectable anabolic steroid products such as PL Oxandrozolic and PL PowerTest 400 on website at ‘powerlinemex.com’ and ‘powerline.com.mx’. Maverick also owned various bodybuilding websites such as ‘renegademuscle.com’ and ‘meatheadz.com’ and had many connections in the world of bodybuilding. Read more
China announced the revocation of the GeneScience Pharmaceutical license to manufacturer Jintropin brand human growth hormone. This represents a major success in efforts towards the internationalization of steroid and doping law by the United States. The U.S. federal government indicted CEO Lei Jin and GeneScience Pharmaceutical Inc. last fall as part of Operation Raw Deal (”China Cracks Down on Drug Companies,” June 19).
One of the drugmakers that China named Wednesday was GeneScience Pharmaceutical, which is based in northern China and run by an American-educated executive. Last September, a federal grand jury in Rhode Island indicted the company for illegally distributing millions of dollars in human growth hormones in the United States. The company had denied the allegation, but its American agent pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to distribute H.G.H.
Jeff Beaty aka “The Priest” pleaded guilty on Friday, February 15, 2008 to the charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. Beaty was arrested and indicted as part of Operation Raw Deal.
Newspapers have identified Jeff Beaty of Nashville, Tennessee as an MMA fighter. He trained at Nashville MMA. His MySpace page has been inactive since last fall.
Assistant U.S. attorney Brian McEvoy described the “significant assistance” provided by Beaty to the Florida Times-Union with use of his internet handles:
He allowed [federal] agents to use his online identity and identified cellular telephone numbers that led to [several] convictions.
The plea agreement details Beaty’s cooperation as follows:
The defendant agrees to cooperate fully and testify truthfully against any and all persons as to whom the defendant may have knowledge whenever called upon to do so with regard to the facts underlying the information in this case, as well as the government’s continuing investigation into the circumstances underlying the information. The defendant understands that this agreement does not require the defendant to “make the case” against any particular person or persons. Rather it requires the defeant to be truthful and to testify truthfully whenever called upon. The defendant agrees to fully and truthfully respond to all questions asked by law enforcement officers. Defendant agrees to a polygraph examination if deemed necessary by the government to verify the truthfulness of information the defendant is supplying pursuant to the cooperation provision of this plea agreement.
Beaty faced up to 5 years imprisonment and up to $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors recommended probation. The court granted the “motion for downward departure” on Friday. Beaty was sentenced to 5 years probation:
Sentence: 5 Years Probation with standard conditions of probation. urine testing, prohibition against possession of any firearm or other dangerous weapon and against the violation of any law. DNA sample as directed by the USPO. deft shall participate in a program of testing for drug and alcohol abuse and if necessary, participate in program for treatment. 150 hrs of community service during the first 18 months of probation. Deft shall submit his person, residence, office, or vehicle to a search conducted by a USPO at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner. Court accepts the plea agreement.
Real journalists are supposed to rely on verifiable facts when writing news stories. Michael Brick of the New York Times appears to be guilty of sloppy fact-checking in his coverage of the federal steroid investigations down in Texas.
A black Hummer pulled into the Hooters parking lot as dusk fell. Arthur Dale Atwood, a professional bodybuilder with a 61-inch chest, opened the tailgate for a police informant to deliver more than 100 bottles of fake drugs made from vegetable oil.
The story implies that Art Atwood was selling and dealing “fake” steroids. Court documents which provide details of the sting operation indicate that federal investigators gave the police informant fake steroids in place of real steroids as part of the Atwood sting operation. “Fake” steroids are often used in sting operations to establish conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute.
Furthermore, the police informant involved in the federal steroid sting operation was Art Atwood’s best friend; Atwood had no reason to suspect he was being sold fake steroids. His best friend had been acquiring steroids from David Jacobs who was distributing legitimate steroids imported from China according to independent sources.
Prosecutors could have tried Atwood and Jacobs on multiple counts of drug conspiracy, seeking to make an example of two bodybuilders suspected of distributing steroids. But instead, they made deals that could keep both men from serving any prison time.
Art has informed MESO-Rx that he had not entered into a plea agreement with federal investigators and the New York Times assertion of such a deal was categorically false. Atwood has not been charged with a crime and it remains to be seen if charges are filed against him for his involvement.
Atwood and Jacobs were enlisted to cooperate in Operation Raw Deal, the federal government’s most aggressive drive yet to interrupt the importation and traffic of performance-enhancing drugs through nutrition stores, gyms and Web sites. In September, authorities in 10 countries coordinated the arrests of more than 120 people, seized more than $6 million and collected 11 million steroid doses, 3 boats and dozens of weapons.
While the Texas investigation is a complex and interconnected case, Atwood explains that his involvement in the case is different from Jacobs; Atwood does not have the same connections e.g. with NFL football players, nor does he have a plea agreement with prosecutors assuring him that he will avoid jail time. The facts involving Atwood’s case are significantly different and will be judged independently, contrary to suggestions by the New York Times of similarities between the Atwood and Jacobs cases. As he told the local CBS affiliate, “David did his own thing; I was my own entity.”
Through the summer, six other people connected to Atwood and Jacobs were arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute steroids. Most have pleaded guilty to the federal distribution charge. In interviews, investigators and defense lawyers described the six as bodybuilders who were supplied by Atwood and Jacobs and who were familiar with one another partly through competitions and mostly through online sales.
The New York Times implies that six bodybuilders were arrested as the result of Art Atwood’s cooperation with federal investigators. Atwood strongly denies the truth of this allegation; the implication that they were “turning people in left and right” is untrue. Furthermore, none of the six indicted co-conspirators of David Jacobs have accused Atwood as being responsible for their arrests.
While the parties affected by the federal steroid investigation in Texas are restricted by what they can say to the press by legal considerations, the full truth and details of this large scale investigation will become a matter of public record soon – most likely upon sentencing of the parties involved. MESO-Rx tries to provide additional information as it becomes available but the details are incomplete and we should be cautious before we rush to judgment in the absence of all of the facts.
Another internet-based anabolic steroid source arrested in Opeartion Raw Deal in the fall of 2007 has pleaded guilty. Robert Cashmon of New Hampshire pleaded guilty to six counts including “possession of anabolic steroids with intent to distribute,” “conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids,” “receipt in interstate commerce of misbranded drugs” and “laundering of monetary instruments.” Specific steroids sold by Cashmon as cited in the indictment include oxymetholone, methandrostenolone and misbranded stanozolol (misbranded as CP Winstrol).
Cashmon is scheduled for sentencing on April 28, 2008.
