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.
[Stanford] cooperated completely upon the very first contact that federal agents made with Mr. Stanford at his home in Texas on or about September 2007. Following this initial contact and the January 9, 2008 meeting described above, Mr. Stanford engaged in further efforts to assist the federal government. In order to protect the confidentiality of those efforts and the individuals involved in those efforts which are ongoing, undersigned counsel respectfully requests that this court hold a chambers conference so that Mr. Stanford’s efforts may be reviewed by the court. (italics/emphasis added) […]
[Stanford] has engaged in an intensive cooperative relationship with the federal government since July , 2008… It is respectfully submitted that this Court will note not only the quantity of Mr. Stanford’s cooperation, but also the quality of his cooperation that arose from his distinctive combination of educational background, unusual skills, abilities and remarkable diligence. Mr. Stanford is requesting that this court depart significantly from the Guidelines.
Corey Stanford was sentenced to one year probation with four months home confinement for his “short lived” and “modest scale” distribution of anabolic steroids. Stanford was indicted based on the sale of 60 tablets of Winstrol and one 10ml vial of testosterone enanthate. A Connecticut FBI agent posed as an online customer and purchased anabolic steroids from Stanford after responding to an online classifieds listing via the website Sell.com. Stanford was the second individual busted for selling anabolic steroids on Sell.com as a result of Operation Phony Pharm. Corey Stanford’s plea agreement revealed that he was busted with over 2,500 units of anabolic steroids. He faced up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 prior to reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. Matthew Maddox, the defense attorney for Stanford, skillfully requested a downward departure of his sentence based upon the extent of his cooperation. The defendant’s Criminal History Category was II with three criminal history points calculated based on a February 1, 2001 murder conviction in Texas (“Operation Phony Pharm: Texas Man Who Distributed Steroids over the Internet is Sentenced,” March 13).
The investigation codenamed Operation Phony Pharm was initiated in April 2006 by the FBI’s Healthcare Fraud Unit in the District of Connecticut. It targeted individuals and underground labs (UGLs) that sold anabolic steroids via the internet; prosecutors raised eyebrows in the bodybuilding community after promising to identify and contact individual customers who purchased steroids for their own personal use. Agents posed as online customers and purchased steroids sold on websites such as Myspace.com and Sell.com. Assistant United States Attorney Edward Chang of the U.S. Attorney Office’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Unit has been in charge of the investigation. Prosecutors with Operation Phony Pharm and Operation Raw Deal have provided mutual assistance with each other.
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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