Veterinarian cuts ties in horse doping scandal

Bloodhorse.com reports that New Jersey veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Linke, whose professional career had focused on treating Standardbred and Thoroughbred racehorses, gave up her rights to have any involvement with horse racing for two years as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors.

Without the agreement, Linke potentially faced a more serious fate as part of a February 2020 federal indictment along with 18 others for trafficking in mislabeled and adulterated drugs sold to enhance the performance of racehorses. This indictment included trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Navarro pleaded guilty and was sentenced Dec. 17 to five years in prison. Servis has pleaded not guilty and will proceed to trial later next year.

Linke entered into the deferred prosecution agreement during a Dec. 21 virtual hearing before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. The agreement requires Linke to be supervised for two years by a U.S. Pretrial Services officer and be subject to a number of restrictions during that time. At the end of the two years and provided she has complied, all the charges Linke faces as part of the federal indictment will be dropped.

Through Dec. 18, 2023, Linke cannot hold any professional license that allows her to participate in the sport of horse racing. She also is prohibited from practicing medicine on any horse that is involved or intended to be involved in pari-mutuel horse racing, and she cannot associate with any member or employee of Colts Neck Equine, a veterinary practice in Manalapan, N.J., where she was an associate veterinarian.

Linke has travel restrictions, too, that limit her to the Southern or Eastern Districts of New York (which includes 13 downstate counties around and including New York City and Long Island) and New Jersey, unless she has permission from Pretrial Services.

The agreement also included a provision that allows the office of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, with the Southern District of New York, to revoke or modify any provision of this agreement or proceed with prosecution for the offenses she faced. The agreement states as well that federal prosecutors could release Linke from her conditions before the end of two years.

The provision allowing Williams’ office to change the terms of her agreement or seek prosecution at its sole discretion motivated Vyskocil to ask assistant U.S. attorney Anden Chow why the federal government felt it needed the authority to revoke any of the conditions.

Chow said the provision gave federal prosecutors an avenue to pursue the charges again, if necessary, without having to go back to a grand jury.

“In essence, we’re putting the case in suspension, but it is still under the purview of the court,” Chow said.
Linke and her attorney David Wikstrom both said they understood the condition and approved of it.

Linke, who was born and raised in Monmouth County in New Jersey, was indicted for allegedly supplying misbranded and adulterated performance-enhancing drugs to Standardbred trainer Nicholas Surick. Linke also is accused of creating false medical and pharmaceutical records to hide Surick’s activities, according to the indictment. Standardbred trainer Christopher Marino is also said to have administered drugs supplied by Linke.

In other activity related to the federal indictment, veterinarian Seth Fishman remains free following a Dec. 20 hearing to consider revoking his bail.

Federal prosecutors asked Vyskocil to revoke Fishman’s bail because he continued after his arraignment to sell “injectable, adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs” from his business in Florida that operates under the names Equestology, Camelology, and Equi-Tech. Prosecutors argued Fishman should be detained until his trial scheduled for Jan. 19.

Fishman’s attorney Maurice Sercarz countered in a letter to Vyskocil that the veterinarian “has never made a secret of his intention, following his arrest, to continue exporting his products” and that he’s followed the restrictions required to adhere to federal export exemptions regarding adulterated or misbranded products.

Vyskocil agreed to allow Fishman to remain free on bail.

“Dr. Fishman will remain at liberty, subject to more restrictive bail conditions, on consent of the parties,” Sercarz told BloodHorse.

The additional restrictions are as follows:

– Fishman shall surrender all drugs and/or substances now stored at 3500 NW Boca Raton Boulevard, Unit #723, Boca Raton, Fla., to an agent of the FBI or the designee of either the FBI or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within two weeks of Dec. 20, 2021.

– Prior to the time of surrender, Fishman, his agents, or any employees of any business controlled by Fishman are prohibited from entering the unit, and

– For the duration of the period of his pretrial release, the defendant, and all entities that he controls, shall refrain from the manufacture and/or distribution of any drug or substance, and from the administration of any drug or substance, apart from the drugs and substances that the defendant may administer to himself in the course of self-treatment for his own medical conditions (namely, boswellic acid, curcumin, hyaluronic acid, citrus-derived bioflavonoids, and concentrated fruit extracts).

Fishman was arrested Oct. 30, 2019, in New York after arriving on a flight from the United Arab Emirates and subsequently released on a $100,000 bond secured by his home in Highland Beach, Fla. After the indictment,

Fishman says his primary source of income has been exporting veterinary products to the UAE and that he has no clients or horses under his care in the United States.

Reprinted with permission from Bloodhorse.com