Brian W. Jeffery aka “The Iron Bull” was sentenced to 16 months in prison and 3 years probation for selling anabolic steroids over the internet. Jeffery imported raw steroid powder from China and converted it to oral and injectable steroids in an underground lab (UGL) in Arizona. He sold the steroid products under the label “Superior Labs” and advertised the sale of steroids to bodybuilders on various internet message boards including Getanabolics.com (“Superior Labs for Superior People”) . Jeffery has been detained since his arrest on September 27, 2007. He pleaded guilty to one count of steroid distribution on May 5, 2008 (“Operation Phony Pharm: Arizona Man Sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for selling steroids over the internet“, July 31).
According to documents filed with the Court, in 2007, JEFFERY used the screen name The Iron Bull on www.getanabolics.com, an Internet forum on which members can post messages and ask for advice about a wide range of topics relating to weightlifting and body building. The Iron Bull advertised that he was a distributor of anabolic steroids for an underground steroid laboratory named Superior Labs. On two occasions, an FBI agent acting in an undercover capacity communicated via email with JEFFERY, placed orders for the anabolic steroids dianabol and testonogen, and subsequently received shipments of the steroids in the United States mail.
JEFFERY has admitted that he purchased raw steroid powder from suppliers in China and then converted the powder into steroids in oral and injectable form. From March through June 2007, JEFFERY sold at least 10,000 units of anabolic steroids.
The Superior Labs steroid bust was the result of a multi-jurisdictional investigation called Operation Phony Pharm involving Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Healthcare Fraud Unit in the District of Connecticut, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Operation Phony Pharm was classified as “an undercover investigation targeting the illegal sale of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and other controlled substances over the Internet.” It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney Office’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit. The FBI (Operation Phony Pharm) and DEA (Operation Raw Deal) provided mutual assistance to each other during the course of their respective investigations.
Edwin F. Porter (Chandler, AZ), Matthew J. Peltz (Chandler, AZ), Tyler J. Lunn (Phoenix, AZ) and Walter T. Corey (Cherleroi, PA) of the underground lab Medline Pharmaceuticals marketed on myspace.com/anabolic-ss and anabolic-superstore.com, Brian S. Tompkins (Deltona, FL), Alan R. Blair (Wilton, CT) of Jintropin.com, and Hiroshige Cranney (San Francisco, CA) have also been prosecuted as a result of Operation Phony Pharm (“Operation Phony Pharm: Six Charged As A Result Of Investigation Targeting Internet Sale Of Steroids, Human Growth Hormone,” September 24, 2007).
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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