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Nora
R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut,
announced that COREY L. STANFORD, JR., 31, of Austin, Texas, pleaded
guilty today before United States District Judge Janet C. Hall
in Bridgeport to one count of distributing anabolic steroids.
According to documents filed with
the Court and statements made in court, STANFORD used the Internet, including
the website sell.com, to communicate with individuals interested in buying steroids. STANFORD
then sent the steroids to those individuals through the mail.
This matter stems from Operation Phony
Pharm, an investigation headed by the FBI’s Healthcare Fraud Unit in the
District of Connecticut. Using several sophisticated investigative techniques,
this initiative has targeted web sites and individuals who are selling Schedule
II and III pharmaceuticals over the Internet without a doctor’s consultation
or a legitimate legal written prescription. The investigation also sought
to identify and close down underground laboratories in the U.S. that are making
these drugs from raw materials obtained from outside the U.S.
Judge Hall has scheduled sentencing
for July 7, 2008, at which time STANFORD faces a maximum term of imprisonment
of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
This matter is being investigated
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service,
the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and
the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant
United States Attorney Edward Chang.
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