Grand Jury Indicts BALCO in Steroid Scheme

Grand Jury Indicts BALCO in Steroid Scheme

SAN FRANCISCOOn Feb. 12, after months of investigation into acompany that customized supplements for professional athletes, a grand juryindicted BALCO and the companys founder Victor Conte and vice president JamesJ. Valente; track coach Remi Korchemny; and personal trainer Greg F. Anderson.The charges returned by the grand jury included possession with intent todistribute anabolic steroids; conspiracy to defraud the United States;introduction and delivery of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce withintent to defraud; and misbranding of drugs held for sale with intent todefraud. Conte, Valente and Anderson were also charged with possession of humangrowth hormone (hGH) with intent to distribute, as well as money laundering.

The indictment alleges between December 2001 and Sept. 3, 2003, Conte,Valente, Anderson and Korchemny had, on six separate occasions, distributedsteroids to athletes. In particular, the indictments allege the defendantsviolated federal law by distributing The Clear, containingtetrahydragestrinone (THG), which was promoted as a steroid-like derivativethat would provide steroid-like effects without causing the athlete totest positive for steroids, and by distributing The Cream to conceal anathletes elevated testosterone levels during drug screenings. Conte alsoallegedly entered into agreements with athletes in which they agreed to endorseZMA, a sportsenhancement supplement sold by Conte. ZMA is also sold byBenecia, Calif.-based InterHealth Nutraceuticals. Other than distributingZMA, InterHealth is not associated with BALCO or its founder, Victor Conte, acompany spokesperson stated.

The indictment further alleges Conte, Valente and Anderson conspired tolaunder the proceeds from anabolic steroids by segregating the money from normalbusiness proceeds and placing it into a personal bank account; the defendantsalso allegedly used a third party to handle checks to pay for the steroids.

BALCOs clients are not named either in the indictment or a search warrantaffidavit, which was unsealed Feb. 12. The athletes identities are not amatter of public record, either, although during the investigation it came outthat baseball slugger Barry Bonds and Olympic sprinter Marion Jones had beenclients.

The four defendants appeared in federal court Feb. 13 before Magistrate JudgeMaria-Elena James; minutes from that hearing had not been filed at press time.

A copy of this press release can be found on the U.S. Attorneys Web site (www.usdoj.gov/usao/can).Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court Website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.