Sentencing guidelines set in horse doping scandal

The United States Attorney Southern District of New York this past week has made their suggested sentencing for those involved in the horse doping scandal that have already plead guilty.

The latest person to have had a sentencing guideline submitted to the judge is former veterinarian, Kristian Rhein. Here is what the prosecution has submitted.

Kristian Rhein, the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors particularly applicable here include the need for the sentence to reflect the nature and seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, to provide just punishment for the offense, and to afford adequate general deterrence. The Government believes that a Guidelines sentence of 36 months’ imprisonment is the appropriate sentence – one sufficient but not greater than necessary to serve the purposes of sentencing when balancing Rhein’s relatively early acceptance of responsibility, his heightened culpability relative to other defendants, the position of trust he enjoyed as a veterinarian with direct (and near unfettered) access to racehorses, his years-long participation in this conspiracy, his persistent efforts to evade law enforcement and continue selling SGF-1000, and his attempts to conceal his distribution and administration of SGF-1000 and prescription clenbuterol through false billing and the false “re-branding” of SGF-1000.

Although Rhein did not plead guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, as part of his plea agreement, he agreed to pay restitution to the victims of that crime, totaling $729,716, the amount of payments he had falsely extracted from owners by concealing his billing for adulterated and misbranded drugs.

Also posted was the suggested imprisonment time for the following people who have already plead guilty in this case.

Jordan Fishman (Guidelines Range of 12 to 18 months’ imprisonment): Jordan Fishman, a drug manufacturer, assisted Seth Fishman in creating and manufacturing adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs in his Massachusetts-based laboratory, for further distribution by Seth Fishman and Seth Fishman’s sales representative, Lisa Giannelli. Jordan Fishman personally produced the illegal drugs for later distribution, created new drugs entirely at Seth Fishman’s direction, and was involved in the manufacture of a variety of drugs. Unlike Rhein, Jordan Fishman was not involved in the labeling, marketing, or sale (to consumers) of the illicit drugs he created, nor did he solicit customers or otherwise engage with customers, and did not otherwise promote the drugs that he created and produced. Likewise, Jordan Fishman did not have any animals under his care and/or control, and did not capitalize on that position to conceal the administration of drugs to racehorses.

Michael Kegley Jr. (Guidelines Range of 30 to 37 months’ imprisonment but, given the statutorily authorized maximum sentence, the Guidelines sentence is correspondingly adjusted to 30 to 36 months’ imprisonment): Kegley, the Director of Sales of Medivet, was a co-conspirator of Rhein’s but, unlike Rhein, held no professional license, and did not have direct access to racehorses as part of his profession. Unlike Kegley, Rhein was a licensed veterinarian who predominantly treated racehorses; as such, Rhein was a more sophisticated actor than Kegley, and well-acquainted with the various legal regimes governing the sale and distribution of an adulterated and misbranded drug. Likewise, Rhein, unlike Kegley, personally administered SGF-1000 to racehorses, concealed bottles of that drug, instructed others to do the same, and falsely billed customers for SGF-1000 under a false billing code. Although Kegley claimed in a consensually recorded call to be aware that veterinarians engaged in the practice Case 1:20-cr-00160-MKV Document 564 Filed 11/24/21 Page 8 of 12 Page 9 of false billing, he did not personally engage in this practice, nor was he in a position to facilitate this practice, unlike Rhein.

Marcos Zulueta (Guidelines Range of 30 to 37 months’ imprisonment but, given the statutorily authorized maximum sentence, the Guidelines Range is correspondingly adjusted to 30 to 36 months’ imprisonment): Zulueta, a racehorse trainer, assisted Navarro in obtaining and administering performance-enhancing drugs for the purpose of doping horses, and exchanged tips with Navarro regarding new illicit drugs to administer to horses, and methods of administration. Zulueta not only procured illicit drugs, he personally administered them to the racehorses under his care and control. Although Zulueta, like other trainers, stood to personally profit from the improved performance of the racehorses he doped, Zulueta-trained racehorses (and, by extension, Zulueta) earned comparatively less in purse winnings than Navarro, and over the course of the conspiracy, Zulueta raced fewer racehorses than Navarro.

Christopher Oakes (Guidelines Range of 46 to 57 months’ imprisonment but, given the statutorily authorized maximum sentence, the Guidelines sentence is correspondingly adjusted to 36 months’ imprisonment): Oakes, a racehorse trainer, procured adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs from Seth Fishman, re-distributed at least one of those drugs to Navarro, and produced his own drench that was purportedly untestable even when administered the day of a race, which Oakes administered to his own racehorses (those he owned and trained) and provided to Navarro. Oakes additionally assisted Navarro in surreptitiously administering drugs to one of Navarro’s racehorses, “XY Jet,” the day that horse was scheduled to race, by sneaking past racetrack security officials and concealing the true purpose of his entry into the racetrack and barn area where “XY Jet” was housed. As with the other convicted racehorse trainers, Oakes was licensed—and was thus proficient in various racing rules prohibiting the use of PEDs—and personally administered drugs to the horses under his care and control.

Jorge Navarro (Guidelines Range of 168 to 210 months’ imprisonment but, given the statutorily authorized maximum sentence, the Guidelines sentence is correspondingly adjusted to 60 months’ imprisonment): Navarro, a thoroughbred racehorse trainer, was a prolific doper of racehorses, utilizing multiple sources of supply for the PEDs he used, drawing from foreign and domestic sources, and soliciting drugs from both non-veterinarians and veterinarians alike. Navarro is notable for his aggressive pursuit of novel drugs to administer to the racehorses under his care and control. Moreover, as a trainer, Navarro personally profited from the improved performance of the racehorses he had surreptitiously and corruptly doped.

By Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink