Showing posts with label Musclebear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Musclebear. Show all posts
Musclebear gets three year sentence in US jail.
Two Ukrainian men who led an international steroid ring were sentenced today in Pittsburgh to three years and 10 months in prison. Yeveniy Suray and Oleksandr Skochyk, whose ages were not immediately available, were arrested in 2010 after undercover Food and Drug Administration agent Sean Grillo lured them to a meeting in Cyprus by offering them computer consulting services. They sold through dealers, including one in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and were prosecuted in Pittsburgh.
Internal Revenue Service agent Neal Bandzak later estimated that the business they led was bringing in more than $100,000 a month from some 600 U.S. customers in early 2009.
"It was a sophisticated international drug ring, a profitable international drug ring and a dangerous international drug ring," U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose said.
Mr. Suray apologized and pleaded for a prompt return to Ukraine.
Mr. Skochyk, known as "Musclebear," said nothing during the hearing, at which he was served by an interpreter, but then afterwards yelled, in English, "You know that I didn't do it!"
The judge said the steroids sent to the U.S. were manufactured primarily in the Far East, where drug purity regulation doesn't compare to that in this country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Dillon said the business they led bribed a Western Union employee and perhaps a Ukrainian customs employee. He said it appears that the business continues to operate, though it is no longer selling to the U.S.
The two are expected to be deported after serving their sentences.
MuscleBear pleads guilty in US court.
Two Ukrainian men pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import and sell illegal steroids and to money laundering in the culmination of an investigation that started in Pittsburgh and spread to three continents.
Oleksandr Skochyk, 35 -- who authorities said went by the name Musclebear -- and Yeveniy Suray, 29, both of Kiev, will be sentenced June 21 and likely face prison terms of three to five years.
They sold some 40,000 doses of anabolic steroids and synthetic testosterone to Americans, through dealers in Pittsburgh, Iowa, Texas and Washington state, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Dillon, who is prosecuting the cases. The drugs were made in Ukraine, China and Thailand.
The bust of the Pittsburgh dealer, Paul G. Matthews, led agents to their sources in the Ukraine. A Food and Drug Administration undercover agent arranged a meeting with them in Cyprus in 2010, at which time they detailed their business dealings and were arrested.
"These defendants were essentially at the top of this conspiracy," said Mr. Dillon.
Their defense attorneys, Chris Rand Eyster and William C. Kaczynski, confirmed that the two were involved in steroid sales, but disputed that they played leading roles in any conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose will determine whether they played leadership roles, which will have a big impact on their sentences.
Oleksandr Skochyk, 35 -- who authorities said went by the name Musclebear -- and Yeveniy Suray, 29, both of Kiev, will be sentenced June 21 and likely face prison terms of three to five years.
They sold some 40,000 doses of anabolic steroids and synthetic testosterone to Americans, through dealers in Pittsburgh, Iowa, Texas and Washington state, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Dillon, who is prosecuting the cases. The drugs were made in Ukraine, China and Thailand.
The bust of the Pittsburgh dealer, Paul G. Matthews, led agents to their sources in the Ukraine. A Food and Drug Administration undercover agent arranged a meeting with them in Cyprus in 2010, at which time they detailed their business dealings and were arrested.
"These defendants were essentially at the top of this conspiracy," said Mr. Dillon.
Their defense attorneys, Chris Rand Eyster and William C. Kaczynski, confirmed that the two were involved in steroid sales, but disputed that they played leading roles in any conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose will determine whether they played leadership roles, which will have a big impact on their sentences.
Fourth person sentenced in MuscleBear steroids ring.
A fourth conviction for steroid distribution earned an Iowa man 20 months in prison Thursday, making him the first person sentenced of four indicted through a multi-agency investigation.
"I messed up again," Ronald J. Sales, 47, told U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose.
Mr. Sales served as a middleman for a Ukrainian-directed ring's Chinese-made steroids, of which they distributed tens of thousands of doses. He will forfeit $21,183 that prosecutors said he gained through crime and will be under federal supervision for three years after release.
Paul G. Matthews, a Pittsburgh-area representative of the conspiracy, is to be sentenced Jan. 3.
Ukrainians Oleksandr "Musclebear" Skochyk and Yeveniy Suray were arrested in Cyprus in 2010, extradited and arraigned here in June. Both have pleaded not guilty.
"This was a major operation, an international ring," Judge Ambrose said.
The Drug Enforcement Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Postal Service were involved in the investigation of the ring.
"I messed up again," Ronald J. Sales, 47, told U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose.
Mr. Sales served as a middleman for a Ukrainian-directed ring's Chinese-made steroids, of which they distributed tens of thousands of doses. He will forfeit $21,183 that prosecutors said he gained through crime and will be under federal supervision for three years after release.
Paul G. Matthews, a Pittsburgh-area representative of the conspiracy, is to be sentenced Jan. 3.
Ukrainians Oleksandr "Musclebear" Skochyk and Yeveniy Suray were arrested in Cyprus in 2010, extradited and arraigned here in June. Both have pleaded not guilty.
"This was a major operation, an international ring," Judge Ambrose said.
The Drug Enforcement Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Postal Service were involved in the investigation of the ring.
Musclebear and associate both from Ukraine to be extradited to the US.
Federal prosecutors landed two guilty pleas Tuesday in what was characterized in court as a multi-agency effort to take down "a large international conspiracy" to peddle anabolic steroids and other illegal muscle-building drugs.
Pleading guilty, and now facing September sentencings, were Paul G. Matthews, 51, of the Pittsburgh area, and Ronald J. Sales, 46, of the St. Louis area. Prosecutors would not provide more detailed information on their residences.
Mr. Matthews ran Matthews Training Concepts and was caught running a steroid manufacturing facility in his home.
Although there was no testimony at hearings Tuesday to any direct business links between Mr. Matthews and Mr. Sales, both were accused of conspiracy to distribute 40,000 units of steroids in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and of paying for them by sending money to Ukraine and China.
At Mr. Matthews' guilty plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton said that he was doing business with two Ukrainian men, later identified as Oleksandr "Musclebear" Skochyk and Yeveniy Suray.
The two Ukrainians were indicted by a Pittsburgh-based federal grand jury a year ago for distributing illegal, Chinese-made steroids and synthetic testosterone. Arrest warrants were issued, and Ms. Houghton said the men are being extradited.
She said that if Mr. Matthews had not pleaded guilty, agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Postal Service, among others, would have testified at his trial.
She described how a confidential source tipped agents off to Mr. Matthews' steroid lab, leading to three undercover buys. Packages of steroids from China, addressed to him, were seized at Los Angeles International Airport. A Feb. 10, 2010, raid on Mr. Matthews' home revealed that he was buying raw steroid powder and manufacturing individual doses, which were sold illegally and without warning labels.
Investigators then got search warrants for participants' email accounts, and with help from Canadian law enforcement obtained hundreds of emails between the Ukrainians and their customers, Ms. Houghton said.
Downtown attorney William C. Kaczynski, representing Mr. Suray, declined comment. Mr. Skochyk has no attorney listed in court records.
Mr. Matthews and Mr. Sales could face as much as 20 years in prison, but their actual sentences are likely to be lighter because the prosecution has confirmed that they have accepted responsibility for their crimes. Mr. Sales has a prior drug conviction, which might lengthen his sentence.
Pleading guilty, and now facing September sentencings, were Paul G. Matthews, 51, of the Pittsburgh area, and Ronald J. Sales, 46, of the St. Louis area. Prosecutors would not provide more detailed information on their residences.
Mr. Matthews ran Matthews Training Concepts and was caught running a steroid manufacturing facility in his home.
Although there was no testimony at hearings Tuesday to any direct business links between Mr. Matthews and Mr. Sales, both were accused of conspiracy to distribute 40,000 units of steroids in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and of paying for them by sending money to Ukraine and China.
At Mr. Matthews' guilty plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton said that he was doing business with two Ukrainian men, later identified as Oleksandr "Musclebear" Skochyk and Yeveniy Suray.
The two Ukrainians were indicted by a Pittsburgh-based federal grand jury a year ago for distributing illegal, Chinese-made steroids and synthetic testosterone. Arrest warrants were issued, and Ms. Houghton said the men are being extradited.
She said that if Mr. Matthews had not pleaded guilty, agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Postal Service, among others, would have testified at his trial.
She described how a confidential source tipped agents off to Mr. Matthews' steroid lab, leading to three undercover buys. Packages of steroids from China, addressed to him, were seized at Los Angeles International Airport. A Feb. 10, 2010, raid on Mr. Matthews' home revealed that he was buying raw steroid powder and manufacturing individual doses, which were sold illegally and without warning labels.
Investigators then got search warrants for participants' email accounts, and with help from Canadian law enforcement obtained hundreds of emails between the Ukrainians and their customers, Ms. Houghton said.
Downtown attorney William C. Kaczynski, representing Mr. Suray, declined comment. Mr. Skochyk has no attorney listed in court records.
Mr. Matthews and Mr. Sales could face as much as 20 years in prison, but their actual sentences are likely to be lighter because the prosecution has confirmed that they have accepted responsibility for their crimes. Mr. Sales has a prior drug conviction, which might lengthen his sentence.
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