Canadian Doctor Pleads Quilty In Illegal HGH Sports Injury Treatments

BrocktonPost
BUFFALO, N.Y.--A Canadian doctor has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of treating American baseball, football, golf and other professional athletes with illegal human growth steroids in violation of several U.S. laws and will face up to three years in jail.
According to a release from U.S. Immigration and Customs, or ICE, Dr. Anthony Galea, 51, of Toronto, Canada, entered his guilty plea Wednesday, July 6 before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara in Buffalo, N.Y., and faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and forfeiture of $275,000.
In the original affidavit from May, 18, 2010, Galea faced a maximum of 20 years for smuggling charges.
The drugs included human growth hormone, or HGH, and Actovegin, a derivative of calf's blood.
Media reports have said Galea was a former doctor to golfer Tiger Woods and New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez.
The charge stems from an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
Galea admitted traveling to the U.S. numerous times from 2007 through September 2009in order to provide medical treatments to professional athletes, including players in the National Football League and Major League Baseball.
The affidavit supporting the complaint alleges that Galea, who is not a U.S. citizen and who is not authorized to work in the United States, repeatedly entered the United States from 2007 to September 2009 in order to treat numerous professional athletes in the country. The athletes were said to be from Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the Professional Golfers' Association.
It was alleged that Galea's billings to three athletes from the NFL alone amounted to approximately $200,000.
Galea, who is not licensed to practice medicine in the U.S., admitted traveling to 13locations, including New York City, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Boston to administer four different kinds of treatments.
One type of treatment involved injecting athletes with a mixture containing HGH, while a second type of treatment involved injections of Actovegin.
Federal law requires that drugs intended for human consumption, such as prescription medicines, must be approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration.
Human growth hormone is not approved by the FDA as a treatment for sports injuries and is banned by most professional sports leagues, including the NFL and MLB.
Actovegin is not approved for any use in humans.
Also participating in this ICE HSI investigation were the FBI; FDA, Office of Criminal Investigations; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
On June 24, 2010, Mary Anne Catalano, an employee of the defendant in Canada, pleaded guilty before Judge Arcara to making false statements at the border. Catalano is awaiting sentencing in this case.
Judge Arcara scheduled sentencing for October 19, 2011 at 12:30 pm. Galea was released pending sentencing.