Prosecutors Get First Plea Agreement in Steroid UGL Case Involving Musclehead320 and Onyx Pharma

Robert Medeiros is the first person to reach a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in the counterfeit anabolic steroid manufacturing and distribution case involving Tyler “White Pride” Bauman aka Musclehead320. Medeiros pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (anabolic steroids).

Medeiros was one of six people who was arrested for their role in the underground laboratory (UGL) that manufactured steroids and marketed them falsely under the Onyx Pharmaceutical label. The real Onyx Pharmaceuticals is a legitimate biopharmaceutical company owned by the multi-billion behemoth Amgen. Amgen didn’t take kindly on Musclehead320 and company using its trademark to illegal sell low-quality steroids. Musclehead320’s ill-advised decision to choose Onyx as the name of his UGL only hastened the downfall of his counterfeit steroid trafficking organization.

When Amgen found out about it, it hired its own private investigators to find out more about the steroid UGL. The investigators quickly located the Instagram accounts used by Musclehead320 to sell counterfeited Onyx products. Amgen eventually turned over the information to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

An HSI investigator posed as a customer and ordered three vials of trenbolone acetate and three vials of testosterone enanthate for a total price of $300. The steroid package was shipped via USPS to the federal agent the very next day. The package was immediately linked to Robert Medeiros.

Unfortunately, Medeiros made it extremely easy for HSI agents to uncover his identity. He carelessly created and printed the USPS label from his home computer at his current residence. Medeiros didn’t make any attempt to mask his IP address with the use of a VPN or TOR. This made it possible to link his Comcast IP address directly to his him.

It turned out that Medeiros was the person hired by Musclehead320 to do the shipping for the fake Onyx Pharmaceuticals UGL. Medeiros was responsible for shipping steroid packages to internet customers around the country. 

Medeiros not only made it easy for the feds to link to him to the one shipment sent to the HSI investigator. He also made it extremely easy for agents to obtain a detailed historical record of all suspected shipments to customers for previous years.

Medeiros apparently registered a “Click-N Ship” account on the United States Postal Service (USPS) website from the home computer at his previous residence. Comcast again linked his IP address to Robert Medeiros. 

Medeiros used the same “Click-N Ship” account to print all labels for Onyx Pharma customers. In total, Medeiros printed almost 4,000 labels. Were all of the labels for Onyx Pharma customers? The feds don’t know for sure. But it undoubtedly included hundred and hundreds of names and addresses of customers who purchased steroids from Musclehead320’s Onyx Pharma UGL.

HSI agents placed Medeiros under surveillance and observed him drive to the Westminster Post Office and drop off laundy baskets full of steroid shipments on multiple occasions. The steroid packages were cross-referenced with customers identified in Musclehead320’s email records.

Medeiros may or may not be required to testify against Musclehead320 as a condition of his plea agreement. Most plea agreements require that defendants fully and completely cooperate with prosecutors. But quite honestly, prosecutors don’t really need Medeiros’ testimony to link the steroid shipments to Musclehead320 and the fake Onyx Pharma UGL. They allegedly have an abundance of evidence to establish the links using subpoenaed email account records, ISP records, WU records, USPS records, GPS tracking and real-time surveillance of other co-conspirators.

Source:

DOJ. (June 21, 2017). Gardner Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Traffic Counterfeit Steroids. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/gardner-man-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-traffic-counterfeit-steroids