FDA Raids Store Seeking Steroids

SAN FRANCISCOFederal agents working on behalf of FDA raided a Max Muscle supplement store in the citys Castro neighborhood, searching for two supplements, Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme, the agency claims contained illegal, synthetic steroids. They also hit the Pacifica, Calif., home of Maurice Sandoval, who was listed as the owner of Las Vegas-based American Cellular Labs (ACL), which manufactures the supplements, as well as the owner (as of 2006) of the Max Muscle store that got raided. However, Sandoval has told the media he sold ACL last year, and his name is somehow still attached.

The warrants were executed by Jeff Novitzky, a newer FDA agent, and prosecutors from the United States attorneys office for the Northern District of California. Novitsky made a name for himself as the principal investigator in the BALCO case involving steroids, Major League Baseball (MLB), Barry Bonds and Victor Conte, the infamous designer steroid scientist. They served a third warrant at the Lake Forest, Calif. offices WVM Global Inc., a suspected related business to ACL. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the authorities also raided a location in the Los Angeles area, seeking further evidence in the case.

The two supplements, Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme, were marketed as legal alternatives to steroids, but the feds alleged they actually contained the undetectable designer steroids Madol and trenbolone. A steroid created for beef cattle, trenbolone was the basis for the clear implemented in the BALCO-MLB-Bonds scandal, while madol, also known as DMT, was synthesized by a chemist associated to BALCO and identified by authorities as a steroid six years ago.

FDA reported it had received reports of liver and kidney problems associated with the use of these two supplements.

No arrests were made in the raids. Authorities sought information on the manufacture and distribution of these supplements, noting a belief some of the ingredient compounds were sourced from China.

Max Muscle corporate headquarters has since notified its franchises to pull these products, reportedly popular with high school athletes, from store shelves pending the outcome of FDAs case.