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.
Schrage aka Maverick aka Powerline Labs was busted on September 1, 2007. It was on this date that he was caught speeding in his 2002 Cadillac Escalade returning to Nixa from Florida. He was taken into custody by the Missouri Highway Patrol on an outstanding warrant for his arrest. After Trooper Mandy Kahler arrested Schrage, she discovered approximately 1,000 vials of Powerline branded injectable anabolic steroids and approximately 5 pounds of raw steroid powders (“Man from Nixa pleads guilty to steriod smuggling and sales,” July 18).
By pleading guilty today, Schrage admitted he participated in a conspiracy to import steroids from China between Nov. 1, 2004, and Sept. 20, 2007. Schrage placed numerous orders via e-mail for steroids in raw form, using fictitious names to send wire transfers to his Chinese suppliers. He then manufactured the raw form into steroids that he sold over the Internet and shipped to customers throughout the U.S.
Schrage also admitted that he dispensed misbranded prescription drugs (steroids) without the prescription of a licensed practitioner. On June 15, 2007, an undercover law enforcement officer purchased steroids from a steroid broker in Arizona that were shipped by Schrage from Springfield. The steroids were labeled in Spanish in violation of federal requirements that all prescription medication be labeled in English. No instructions for use were located on the labels of the product. Schrage dispensed the steroids to the steroid broker without determining that the customer had a valid physician’s prescription for the prescription drug. Schrage also pleaded guilty to a money-laundering conspiracy. He admitted that he conducted financial transactions that involved the proceeds of criminal activity with the intent to promote the unlawful distribution of steroids.
Mikal Schrage will receive his sentence once the United States Probation Office concludes their presentencing investigation.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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