Steven Woods, the owner of Competitive Edge Labs and Serious Nutrition Solutions, recently walked out of jail after posting a $1,000,000 bond. He was arrested last month and charged with two counts related to the distribution of anabolic steroids and five counts of money laundering. Law enforcement authorities and local news outlets have made reference to a business through which Woods distributed steroids but have not identified the name or nature of the business(es).
The Pittsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office was not happy that Woods was able to get out of jail before trial. Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Bryan Haksins had originally requested that General District Court Judge George Jones not grant bond for Woods. Prosecutors ultimately withdrew the appeal after Woods satisfied the conditions of his release.
The steroids charges against Woods appear to be the result of products manufactured or distributed by Competitive Edge Labs (CEL) and/or Serious Nutrition Solutions. However, law enforcement authorities and media have tried to give the impression that Woods was arrested as a large-scale black market steroid dealer.
If Woods is being prosecuted for the distribution of anabolic steroids through Competitive Edge Labs, it is noteworthy that the government has decided to prosecute the principal owner of the company rather than targeting Competitive Edge Labs. As such, the owner personally faces felony charges and imprisonment rather than the company simply being subject to administrative action and a large fine.
Some of the products that have previously caused problems for CEL and retailers of CEL products include “M-Drol”, “P-Plex” and “X-Tren”. CEL was accused of negligence, negligent representation, breach of implied warranty and products liability in a Texas lawsuit after two men claimed they suffered liver failure after using “M-Drol” in November 2009.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had made it clear, as early as Spring 2009, that they considered the steroidal ingredients in these products to be “anabolic steroids”. The FDA made this assertion even though these ingredients were not legally classified as anabolic steroids. At best, they were unapproved new drugs that failed to meet the definition of a dietary ingredient.
The active steroidal ingredients in the CEL products were widely and openly sold by several other supplement companies as well. The government has investigated several sports nutrition companies that were involved in the sale and distribution of these products including American Cellular Labs, Bodybuilding.com, iForce Nutrition, Genetic Edge Technologies (GET), Kilo Sports (KS), and Innovative Delivery Systems (IDS) beginning as early as 2009.
CEL had announced the discontinuation of X-Tren in July 2009 while P-Plex was later discontinued. They issued a voluntary nationwide recall of M-Drol in March 2011.
Prosecutors have not released information linking the current steroid and money laundering charges to any of these products.
They have not provided any additional information on the “several hundred pounds of anabolic steroids” as encapsulated steroid products and raw steroid powders seized when executing a search warrant on September 14, 2011.
Source:
GoDanRiver. (September 29, 2011). Bond appeal withdrawn for Pittsylvania County suspect. Retrieved from http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2011/sep/29/bond-appeal-withdrawn-pittsylvania-county-suspect-ar-1347365/
Related Posts :
- Federal Crackdown on Chinese hGH Leads to Huge Profits for Big Pharma
- Steroid Dealer Goes to Prison With Father on Deathbed
- New York Court of Appeals Rules That Signature Pharmacy Steroid Scandal Still Not Over
- Canadian Drug Bust Seizes Anabolic Steroids and hGH Along With Other Recreational Drugs
