Bodybuilding Influencers Bostin Loyd and Jerry Ward Were Federal Informants

Bodybuilding influencers Bostin Loyd and Jerry Ward were interviewed by Special Agents from the FDA Office of Criminal Investigation; both provided information and evidence that was later used by the Department of Justice to successfully prosecute Transformix Peptides, Boss Sports Nutrition, and US Fusion Supply, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

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In September of 2016, Special Agents from the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigation knocked on Bostin Loyd’s door. They wanted to talk about BOSS Sports Nutrition, Transformix Peptides, and US Fusion Supply. The interview lasted two and a half hours, throughout which Bostin provided them with information and evidence pertaining to the illegal sale of research chemicals, including SARMs and Peptides. A month prior, in August of 2016, Jerry Ward was similarly interviewed for half an hour. Like Bostin, Ward provided the federal agents with information plus corroborating evidence. At the heart of the matter was a criminal conspiracy to sell peptides and research chemicals.

Following these interviews, an indictment was filed against the owners of the companies. Not long after being arrested, they began working as informants for the same prosecutors who had arrested them, providing evidence against others in exchange for a lighter sentence. They even turned over their customer list, resulting in multiple athletes being targeted and sanctioned by the United States Anti Doping Agency.

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I was vaguely aware of Bostin Loyd when he reached out to me. It was 2019 and I was investigating a research chemical/peptide indictment handed down by the Western District of Virginia. I had written about the bust, and Bostin wanted my opinion on his personal exposure as someone who had promoted the company through social media. But he was also feeling me out. He wanted to talk about potential informants as well. I think he was trying to figure out if I knew that he had been talking to the Feds, although he never directly asked.

Generally, I said, influencers who promote the illegal sale of drugs such as SARMs, peptides, or other research chemicals, in exchange for a percentage of the sales they generate, are not prosecuted. However, enticing someone to buy an illegal drug, then receiving a percentage of the sale price as a commission, is a pretty obvious crime. It could probably be charged as Aiding and Abetting (18 U.S.C. § 2), but I’ve never seen that happen. He seemed relieved.

You see…I was feeling Bostin out too. I was wondering if he would admit that he had provided some of the information and evidence used to indict Anthony Novak and Spencer Gill, the men behind Transformix Peptides, US Fusion Supply, and Boss Sports Nutrition. Federal prosecutions filed in the Western District of Virginia, I said to Bostin, typically made heavy use of a particular type of informant – those who had been accused of a crime and opted to assist prosecutors in making cases against others in return for a lighter sentence. I was probing to see if he would open up and tell me more, but it didn’t happen. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and I told him to contact me any time if he needed anything else.

Bostin’s conversation with the Feds is officially catalogued as a “Memorandum of Interview” and assigned Document Number 249615 (*9/7/2026, 3:30 pm – 6 pm), while Mr. Ward’s first chat with them (also styled a Memorandum of Interview) has been assigned Document Number 249150 (*8/24/2016, 10:45 am – 11:15 am). His second interview is Document Number 251316 (*11/15/2016, 1:15 pm – no end time noted). In broad terms, Bostin told the FDA about the nature of his dealings with Transformix Peptides, Boss Sports Nutrition, and US Fusion Supply, including private conversations he had with the owners. Mr. Ward likewise told the FDA about his conversations with the owners of those companies and his dealings with them. Both men provided additional evidence; Bostin provided the FDA with contracts he’d executed and Ward provided an email blast concerning peptides as well as text messages.

Author’s note: For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to just refer to these companies collectively as Transformix. They were all owned jointly by Spencer Gill and Anthony Novak. None of the companies (oddly) were charged on the indictment. And yeah, I’m referring to Bostin by his first name, because I was on a first name basis with him, while I’m referring to Jerry Ward as Mr. Ward because I didn’t know the guy at all.

During his two and a half hour interview, Bostin gave the Feds the primary address where the companies were headquartered (e.g., where the owners could be found) and a description of what he observed on a visit (peptides and research chemicals) and where it was stored. To the extent possible, he provided the original source of the drugs being sold — a domestic supplier in Massachusetts, an online source in India, and that the raw ingredients mostly originated in China and India. He further provided the agents with (what he said was) the gross annual sales for the company.

The most important part of Bostin’s interview was his retelling of conversations with Transformix. It was his position that they “know 100% for sure that what they are selling is illegal.” Bostin told the Feds that they’d had conversations about the illegality of multiple products. This is the type of witness information that, in a conspiracy case, is highly prized by government attorneys. Sources and sales figures are relatively easy to subpoena and use as evidence. But to maximize the available penalties (fines, prison time, etc.), a jury has to believe that the defendants (in these types of prosecutions) are knowingly selling research chemicals (despite the disclaimers) for human consumption. This is much easier when you have someone like Bostin on record.

Mr. Ward told investigators that it was well known in the bodybuilding world that “people sell peptides stating for research purposes only, but know full well that they (peptides) are being sold for usage.” This is absolutely true. He also gave them specific information concerning conversations he had with Transformix. Again, if you’re the prosecution, this is precisely the kind of statement that you want (need) at least one of your witnesses to say. He also provided text messages, proving that when he was asked to dilute, mix, and inject peptides in a video, he responded by telling Transformix that “taking it is illegal.” At the first interview he provided text messages, and at his second interview, Mr. Ward provided agents with an email blast from Transformix, advertising various peptides for sale.

Bostin and Mr. Ward both provided statements and evidence to the prosecution, all of which contributed to the indictment and ultimately the conviction of Anthony Novak and Spencer Gill, the men who founded Transformix. The punchline is that the none of this information was new or secret – 100% of it was already available online. Neither Mr. Ward nor Bostin had been shy about speaking openly on their experience with Transformix, and both had already made public comments – including lengthy videos claiming that they’d been ripped off by the owners, and pretty much making the exact statements made during their FDA interviews. Comparing what they said directly to the FDA, to what they’d already put online, I couldn’t find anything new at all.

According to the FDA “Report of Investigation,” Document Number 249863 (06/25/2016 through /916/2016), the FDA had already seen the videos in question. It’s likely that the FDA conducted the interviews, not to obtain the information per se (as it was already in their possession), but potentially to make it easier to admit into evidence at trial (perhaps with Bostin or Ward or both providing witness testimony).

If we’re being realistic, the government had a strong enough case without having seen those videos. They could have obtained Bostin’s contract, Ward’s text messages, and the email blast, all with search warrants and subpoenas – or not at all. Before the Feds knocked on their doors, they had already conducted surveillance on Transformix, made undercover purchases from US Fusion Supply (again, which was owned by Novak and Gill), and intercepted and detained an international package addressed to them.

You should know this before you get involved…if you decide to be a kingpin…and you’re the one running everything…[when your associated get questioned by the government], they’re not ratting you out, [the government] already had you.” Jerry Ward, June 14, 2022.

After all of that evidence was gathered, a Special Agent from the FDA visited the Boss Sports Nutrition retail location (undercover) in Torrence, California, and pretended to be a customer.

On November 29, 2016 Anthony Novak directly sold (to an undercover FDA agent, in person) a product called “Brickhouse,” for “bulking up,” which contained Methyl-1 Testosterone (or M1T), Methylstenbolone, and Dimethazine (the first ingredient is an anabolic steroid, meaning it is a Schedule III controlled substance, and the second and third are designer steroids). He also gave the undercover agent his personal business card and assured him that the product contained ingredients that “are all borderline legal.” None of the ingredients were borderline legal. All have been successfully prosecuted in prior cases.

Novak also directed the agent to Transformix Peptides, claiming it’s a “sister company” to the retail store he was currently inside. He also suggested that the undercover agent purchase various SARMs, peptides, and growth hormone secretagogues. Over the next four months, the undercover agent would make multiple undercover purchases and have several text exchanges with Novak, all of which made their way into the indictment. Standing alone, these sales would have been enough for a successful prosecution.

“If somebody lies…to pad their own pocket…karma’s gonna get ‘em…whether their business fails one day, or something else happens…that’s just not a way to run a business…” Bostin Loyd, David Czechowicz interview, July 26, 2020.

It’s important to note that neither Bostin nor Mr. Ward, who have both since passed away, appeared to have struck any kind of deal with the prosecution. Neither (to my knowledge) were arrested or under threat of indictment. So why did they assist the FDA in bringing down Transformix?

Obviously, I can’t answer that question. I would point out that both of them told the FDA that (they suspected) the owners of Transformix were shortchanging them on pay and cheating them out of money owed to them. In fact, their individual experiences with being shortchanged (at least according to them) were incredibly similar. Both said that they were never afforded the opportunity to view the sales figures personally, so they were unable to audit the company. Transformix later sued Bostin in 2017, for trademark infringement.

This is especially odd, since Bostin claimed to be a 33% owner in Transformix and provided a contract to this effect to the FDA (although they note that his name did not appear on any of the corporate filings as an owner). Ownership claims aside, Bostin earned approximately $11k in March of 2016, $14k in April, $12k in May, and $14k in June. He also admitted receiving five packages for Transformix (after one had been intercepted, they used Bostin’s address to slip them by customs), one of which was leaking some kind of white powder (which he repackaged and reshipped to them). This is not the kind of thing one wants to admit to federal agents.

But despite this admission (and others), Bostin did not seem to be in any danger of being prosecuted. When we spoke, of course, he didn’t mention any of this to me. Still, reading over his interviews, it’s obvious that he wasn’t trying to cut a deal to save himself, and he was in absolutely no fear of being arrested at the time. Mr. Ward, during one of his interviews, denied actually using the Transformix products he had been sent by the company. Online he claims to have actually purchased some of them to sample prior to working with the company and further that his sponsorship deal included $200/month in free product (which he repeatedly claims were very effective). So, to some extent, he seemed at least a bit apprehensive to fully admit everything to the Feds. With that one exception, Bostin and Mr. Ward both admitted to multiple felonies throughout their interviews, and did not appear concerned about being charged with anything. Neither were defendants at any stage of this investigation or prosecution.

According to Bostin, he severed his professional relationships with these Transformix and co. due to nonpayment. According to Mr. Ward, his professional relationship with Transformix soured when he refused to post an instructional video on how to reconstitute and use peptides. Ward seems to have been of the opinion that SARMs were legal while peptides were not – as the subsequent prosecution showed, neither are legal.

“When you get popped, you deal with that shit on your own, you don’t try to drag other people down with you” Jerry Ward, June 14, 2022.

On March 20, 2018, an indictment was filed against Anthony Novak and Spencer Gill, the owners of Transformix Peptides, US Fusion Supply, and Boss Sports Nutrition. The companies themselves were not charged, and the indictment listed only two crimes. The first was Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371) and the second was Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349). Novak and Gill were each charged with both crimes.

On August 23, 2018, both Defendants entered a plea of guilty, and it’s at this time that they began working with the government to prosecute others in an attempt to get a lighter sentence for themselves. This would then be memorialized – first in a 51.1K letter and later, in the prosecution’s sentencing memo.

When a defendant decides to become this type of informant (or snitch, if you prefer), they’re looking for a letter from the prosecution – called a 51.1K Letter. Gill and Novak received their letter on October 21, 2019 – meaning they spent over a year working for the government setting up others to be criminally prosecuted. This letter is a motion filed by the prosecution, telling the judge that the defendant has provided substantial assistance to the government (e.g., snitched), and asking for a sentence outside (below) the federal guidelines. Remember, neither Bostin nor Ward sought any sort of agreement from the prosecution.

Following the submission of a 51.1K letter, an exact sentence recommendation by the prosecution is then outlined in a sentencing memorandum. It may be that a defendant obtains a 51.1K letter without assisting the prosecution in making further arrests and putting other people in jail, but I’ve never encountered this scenario. That’s not to say nobody ever makes that claim, just that I’ve never seen proof. Both Novak and Gill received a 51.1K letter. In addition, both sentencing memoranda state that “the defendants [plural] began cooperating with law enforcement soon after they [plural] were arrested…” So clearly, both defendants in this case became informants (or rats, if you prefer).

If it’s too late for a 51.1K Motion, the prosecution can reward an informant after sentencing by filing what’s known as a Rule 35 Motion (a motion to reduce sentence). This also requires the defendant (now felon) to provide substantial assistance to the prosecution. A few months in a prison cell can make a lot of people reconsider their moral compass. Novak and Gill didn’t receive a prison sentence at all, and were able to provide the government with enough assistance to avoid ever seeing the inside of a prison cell.

Following the Transformix indictment, Alissandra Hipona, Scott Hisaka, and Tiffany Parlor, all competitive weightlifters, were sanctioned by the United States Anti Doping Agency related to various performance enhancing drugs, all sold to them by Transformix Peptides. Of the three weightlifters sanctioned by USADA, two were also competitive CrossFit athletes (Tiffany Parlor and Scott Hisaka). This is in addition to “…the investigation and prosecution of other individuals,” for which Transformix was able to completely avoid a custodial sentence (prison time).

End Notes:

The full Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations Memorandum of Interview Document Number 249615, Memorandum of Interview Document Number 249150, Memorandum of Interview Document Number 251316, and Report of Criminal Investigation 249863 are embargoed until 4/14/2025, after which they can be located on MuckRock at the following URL:

https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/bostin-loyd-137516

Court documents for Spencer Gill and Anthony Novak, including their Indictments, 51.1Ks, and Sentencing Memorandums can be found here:

Spencer Gill:

https://ecf.vawd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/HistDocQry.pl?326936832601743-L_1_0-1

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6687997/united-states-v-novak

Anthony Novak:

https://ecf.vawd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/HistDocQry.pl?155851225244657-L_1_0-1

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6611192/united-states-v-novak

United States Anti Doping Agency Sanctions against Transformix customers can be viewed here:

https://www.usada.org/?s=transformix

Alissandra Hipona:

https://www.usada.org/sanction/alissandra-hipona-accepts-doping-sanction/

Scott Hisaka:

https://www.usada.org/sanction/scott-hisaka-accepts-doping-sanction/

Tiffany Parlor:

https://www.usada.org/sanction/tiffany-parlor-recieves-doping-violation/

CrossFit athlete profiles for Tiffany Parlor and Scott Hisaka:

https://games.crossfit.com/athlete/522325

https://games.crossfit.com/athlete/114515

Read the Department of Justice press release here:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/pair-sentenced-conspiring-defraud-food-and-drug-administration

Further reading on the charges (note that the defendants only pleaded guilty to the second charge):

Conspiracy:

https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-923-18-usc-371-conspiracy-defraud-us

Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud:

https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-965-conspiracy-violate-mail-fraud-or-wire-fraud-statutes

About the author

Anthony Roberts

Anthony Roberts is an expert in the field of performance and image enhancing drugs. He has authored books ranging from the pharmacology of anabolic steroids and growth hormone to their illicit use and trafficking. His writing can be found in magazines such as Muscle Evolution, Muscle & Fitness, Human Enhancement Drugs, Muscle Insider, and Muscular Development.