Illegal steroid sales in Kentucky result in $2.5 million fine for Florida company

A Florida business that distributed anabolic steroids illegally in Kentucky and elsewhere has been fined $2.5 million.

The sentence for Modern Therapy, LLC included a financial judgment of $11 million, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV.

In a related civil case, the company agreed to forfeit three residential properties in Florida and $125,589 from bank accounts. That money will go to the government.

The Hallendale, Fla., company distributed steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) nationwide, but was charged in federal court in Frankfort based on sales to customers in Kentucky, according to court documents.

The company paid doctors to write prescriptions for customers who placed orders online. The doctors did not examine the customers, according to a plea agreement.

Court documents say people in Lexington, northern Kentucky and Pike County bought steroids or human growth hormone from the company.

Undercover police officers in Fayette County also bought products from the company as part of the investigation, according to court records.

In a six-year period, Modern Therapy took in more than $25 million from customers for steriods, HGH and related products — such as masking agents — that it distributed illegally, according to a sentencing memorandum from Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul McCaffrey.

The company pleaded guilty in federal court in Kentucky to conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances.

The main operator of the company, Javier Murcia, died in June 2021 and it appears Modern Therapy is no longer in operation, according to the memo from McCaffrey.

However, records indicate it migrated its business to related organizations that still market steroids, according to the prosecution memo.

“A continuation of the same unlawful conduct, while pending sentencing, reflects an extreme lack of respect of the law and should be considered in the Court’s sentencing analysis,” the prosecutor wrote.

The $2.5 million fine against the company was the maximum allowed.

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced the company Friday in federal court in Frankfort.