The man who lead United States authorities to the popular steroid source “Musclebear” has been sentenced to prison this week. Paul Matthews, the owner of Matthew Training Systems who manufactured anabolic steroids in an underground lab (UGL) on the side, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years parole by U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose.
Matthews pleaded guilty in May 2011 to distribution and conspiracy charges involving anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. Federal agents had previously raided his residence and uncovered the components of an underground steroid lab that included raw steroid powder and vials of UGL injectable steroids.
Federal prosecutors in Western Pennsylvania had listed Matthews as a co-defendant in a “large international conspiracy” that involved the Ukrainina-based internet steroid source who was known by the name “Musclebear”.
Court documents reveal that Matthews cooperated with investigators with the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) .
Matthews told law enforcement that he purchased raw steroid powders from Musclebear. He detailed his arrangement with Musclebear in which he paid via MoneyGram; Muclebear would drop-ship steroid powder directly to Matthews from his Chinese raw material supplier.
Matthews also provided investigators with Musclebear’s email address and his website address.
The information ultimately led to the arrest and indictment of Musclebear’s domestic remailers in the United States. The federal government, along with the cooperation of various international law enforcement agencies, also arrested Oleksandr “Alex” Skochyk aka “Musclebear” and his brother Yvgeniy “Eugene” Suray in a creative undercover bust in the Mediterranean country of Malta.
Source:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (January 13, 2012). Man gets 15 months for role in selling steroids. Retrieved from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12013/1203205-53.stm
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