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New Jersey Veterinarian Gets Deferred Prosecution Deal In Federal Doping Case

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York has agreed to defer the prosecution of New Jersey-based veterinarian Rebecca Linke for two years, pending her adherence to a number of conditions that includes not practicing on race horses and relinquishing all racing licenses during the term of the agreement.

Linke, who worked for Colts Neck Equine Associates in Manalapan Township, N.J., was one of more than two dozen trainers, veterinarians and drug suppliers indicted in March 2020 on drug misbranding and adulteration after a lengthy, multi-state FBI probe. A number of defendants have since pleaded guilty, including Thoroughbred trainer Jorge Navarro, who was sentenced to five years in prison. Others who pleaded not guilty are awaiting trial.

Linke primarily practiced on Standardbreds and is alleged to have assisted trainer Nicholas Surick by supplying misbranded and adulterated performance-enhancing drugs and falsifying medical and pharmaceutical records to conceal Surick's activities.

In the deferred prosecution agreement, the U.S. attorney said that “after a thorough investigation it has been determined that the interest of the United States and your (Linke's) interest will be best served by deferring prosecution. … Prosecution will be deferred during the term of your good behavior and satisfactory compliance with the terms of this agreement for the period of two years from the signing of this agreement.”

The agreement was signed by Linked on Dec. 18, 2021. Prosecutors said no further prosecution of Linke will be pursued and charges in the indictment dismissed if she complies with all the rules, regulations and special conditions of the agreement.

Among the conditions are: Linke shall refrain from violating any law and shall only associate with “law-abiding persons” and “avoid association with any member or employee of Colts Neck Equine.”

Linke also agreed to relinquish any state horse racing professional license and will not apply for any such licenses until the two-year period expires. She is also required to “refrain from the practice of veterinary medicine on horses involved, or intended to be involved, in pari-mutuel horse racing” for the period of compliance required.

She is also restricted from travel outside of certain areas without permission and is required to report to a U.S. Pretrial Services Officer as directed.

The special conditions to the agreement are:

“The U.S. attorney may at any time revoke or modify any condition of this provisional release or change the period of such supervision. The U.S. attorney may discharge you (Linke) from supervision at any time. The U.S. attorney may at any time proceed with the prosecution for this offense should the U.S. attorney, in his or her sole discretion, deem such action advisable.”

According to a Linked In page, Linke is a 2005 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania school of veterinary medicine after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from Cornell University in 2000. She worked at Chino Valley Equine Hospital as an intern in 2005-'06 and was associate veterinarian at Colts Neck Equine from June 2006 until the time of the indictment in March 2020.

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Fishman, Feds Spar Over Admissibility of Evidence

Seth Fishman and federal prosecutors are at odds over what types of evidence and expert testimony will be admissible in court when the veterinarian who allegedly made and sold purportedly performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) goes on trial in early 2022.

In the form of dueling motions filed by each party Dec. 1 in United States District Court (Southern District of New York), the two sides sparred over whether a jury should hear a wide range of evidence that involves what the government is alleging as Fishman “specifically target[ing] clients in the racehorse industry” by “peddling dozens of new drugs that purported to have performance-enhancing effects on racehorses [in a manner] squarely focused on ensuring that [he and his] customers would not get caught doing so.”

Some of what the prosecution wants admissible dates back at least a decade and involves Fishman being investigated in 2012 in Delaware when a Standardbred died after being injected with one of his prescribed products, plus separate PED-related admissions Fishman made in a different investigation that resulted in the prosecution of then-prominent Standardbred breeder David Brooks, who was convicted in 2013 in a $200 million fraud and obstruction of justice case.

The two sides also took umbrage at each other's choices of veterinary “experts” who have been submitted on witness lists to testify on the safety, efficacy, and clinical pharmacology of the drugs Fishman is alleged to have misbranded, adulterated, and conspired to distribute to other racetrack-based defendants in America and abroad.

Some of the motions made by both sides Wednesday that asked the court to exclude evidence relate to aspects of the case that have already been raised in previous court documents.

But one bizarre new offshoot that Fishman's legal team doesn't want brought up in front of a jury concerns a wiretapped phone conversation in which Fishman is allegedly asked by a camel-racing client in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) if he can also produce a “Viagra for ladies” that could be covertly added to a woman's drink.

The government is asserting that in February 2018, an individual identified only as “Bengawi” who purportedly worked for the UAE's Scientific Centers & Presidential Camel Department “solicited Seth Fishman to distribute PEDs, and to create and distribute [an aphrodisiac that] 'can be added in juice, for example.'”

Prosecutors wrote in a Nov. 17 court filing that, “In the course of these communications, the contact provided Seth Fishman with a video of what appeared to be an individual spiking a woman's unattended drink. In response, Seth Fishman offered to make 'BI-AGRA,' which he described as “Female Viagra so strong it makes the woman bisexual.”

The government's intent in wanting this exchange admissible appears to be rooted in establishing a pattern of what substances Fishman was able or willing to produce for clients.

The defense is objecting to the admissibility of those wiretapped sex-drug communications on the grounds that “the allegation that 'Bengawi' solicited the defendant to 'create and distribute illegal drugs' is a conclusion of law without any basis in fact…. It is unclear whether the defendant was responding in a humorous vein; or even taking the request seriously. There is no indication that the defendant subsequently shipped a substance intended for this use.'”

But even if the judge ends up disallowing that portion of evidence, the feds appear to be armed with a solid base of other wiretapped evidence to try and establish “Fishman's overall intent in his drug design–to avoid testability while increasing performance.”

One such intercepted conversation disclosed by the government in Wednesday's filing is a Mar. 31, 2019, call in which Fishman allegedly explains to a foreign potential client what his business strategy is at his Florida firm, Equestology:

“I design programs for people. So, if you're somebody who's got a bunch of endurance horses and you know what you are doing–and that's why I technically only work with trainers that have a certain amount of horses or more, because it would make sense to do it…I mostly work in regenerative peptides, and I work in things that are not commercially available.

“Every now and then people will ask me to make products because they want to go sell them to people who really don't know what's going on. Mostly camel guys that are in the desert. I don't have to tell you how it is, right?…But, I can meet with you [in Dubai]. You can explain to me your needs and wants and I can tell you how there's things that I made for other people that are not exclusive to them.

“If you want your own exclusive stuff, I'll tell you how we go about doing it. The reason I say that certain people want exclusivity is because, obviously, if these horses are being tested and they have something that somebody else has and that person is irresponsible, then it becomes a problem for them,” the government's motion stated.

When the judge does, in fact, rule on the admissibility questions, the crux of the decision might come down to which veterinarians will be allowed to testify and what they will be allowed to say in front of jurors.

The feds are objecting to Fishman's choice of Clara Fenger as a witness to opine on the nature of the pharmaceuticals he sold. She previously worked as a veterinarian with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for 15 years and is currently the sole proprietor of a Kentucky-based company called Equine Integrated Medicine.

Fenger's name might be familiar to racetrackers who have followed other drug-related cases. Her curriculum vita states she has provided “expert testimony” in no fewer than 19 international, federal, and state jurisdictions involving criminal, civil and administrative cases.

Recently, Fenger's work has included testifying on behalf of trainer Bob Baffert when his legal team overturned the 2020 lidocaine disqualifications of Charlatan and Gamine in Arkansas. Fenger also was hired by Baffert this past summer to escort the urine sample of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) when it was sent to New York for additional betamethasone-related testing.

The prosecution's objection to Fenger is “because none of Dr. Fenger's opinions are admissible…insofar as they are unsupported and not based on facts, data, reliable

principles, or specialized knowledge, and because they concern issues that will serve only to sow confusion and distract the jury.”

In turn, Fishman's legal team is objecting to the three veterinarians the government wants to call as “experts”: Jean Bowman, veterinary medical officer in the Division of Surveillance for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Diana Link, a veterinary medical officer at the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, and Cynthia Cole, the Director of the Racing Laboratory at the University of Florida who was responsible for the regimen of drug testing at the Florida Department of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.

“First, the Court should preclude testimony suggesting that the purpose of the statutory scheme is to ensure the well-being of the racehorses,” Fishman's counsel wrote in a memorandum accompanying the Dec. 1 motions.

“Second, the Court should preclude evidence regarding the 'safety and efficacy' of those products allegedly manufactured and distributed by Dr. Fishman. The defendant is not charged in the instant Indictment with crimes relating to the manufacture or distribution of substances that are unsafe for use by animals…Opinion evidence regarding the 'safety and efficacy' of Dr. Fishman's products is, therefore, not relevant to the issues at trial.”

Fishman is charged with two felony counts. In a separate court order signed Dec. 2 by the judge in the case, it was noted that his case (along with co-defendant Lisa Giannelli) received the first back-up slot on the court calendar to begin a trial Jan. 19, 2022.

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Feds Call Navarro A ‘Reckless Fraudster,’ Say Drugs Have ‘Corrupted Much Of The Horse Racing Industry’

It turns out Jorge Navarro really was “The Juiceman,” and contrary to remarks on a 2017 video captured by a horseplayer at New Jersey's Monmouth Park, it was anything but vegetable juice.

In federal court on Wednesday, Navarro acknowledged his role in a racehorse doping scheme that involved multiple performance-enhancing substances, including imported clenbuterol and blood-building drugs he both admitted giving to his horses and distributing to others.

As the Department of Justice stated in a press release, Navarro was a “reckless fraudster whose veneer of success relied on the systematic abuse of the animals under his control.”

Furthermore, Audrey Strauss, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who is prosecuting the cases against more than two dozen trainers, veterinarians and suppliers, said performance-enhancing drugs “have corrupted much of the horse racing industry.”

The guilty plea by Navarro and last week's admission of guilt by veterinarian Kristian Rhein, Strauss said, “demonstrate the continued commitment of this office and our partners at the FBI to the investigation and prosecution of corruption, fraud and endangerment at every level of the horse racing industry.”

Navarro admitted to doping numerous horses, including Sharp Azteca, winner of eight of 17 races, including the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in 2017. He now stands at stud at Three Chimneys Farm.

Among the horses veterinarian Rhein admitted doping was Jason Servis-trained Maximum Security, who won four Grade 1 races and was disqualified from first place for interference in the 2019 Kentucky Derby. Transferred to Bob Baffert after Servis was indicted at the same time as Navarro (Servis has pleaded not guilty), Maximum Security won two of his final four starts before retiring to stud at Coolmore's Ashford Stud.

Just as Major League Baseball's record book is littered with the accomplishments of steroid cheaters like Barry Bonds, so too does horse racing now have a tainted database, with major races won by horses associated with convicted or indicted dopers. Even the Stud Book is polluted.

What happens next?

Can we really take Strauss at her word that the feds will continue their investigation? We know that the more guilty pleas there are, the greater likelihood that the convicted cheaters will cooperate with the government, widening the investigation and likely resulting in more trainers and veterinarians being charged. Prosecutors have collected massive amounts of information via computer and phone records, and cooperating witnesses can help connect some of the dots.

It probably comes down to how much more time and resources the Southern District of New York wants to commit to expose further corruption and cheating in this game.

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Racing has been exposed as a sport with weak or non-existent leadership at the racetrack and regulatory level when it comes to integrity issues. Track executives care more about filling the entry box than they do about the ethics or character of the trainers and owners who are supplying those entries.

Regulators concern themselves more with finding the cheapest testing laboratories than hiring the ones that have proven to be most effective at finding illicit drugs. And then they brag about how clean the game is because there are so few positive tests.

One example: In 2015, Truesdail Laboratories was found during a blind sample audit conducted by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission to have missed multiple positive tests, including a Class 1 drug – the most severe. Indiana fired Truesdail and moved their testing to another lab. It took years for a number of other racing commission to follow suit, even though Truesdail's failures were widely reported. Those racing commissions, from Maryland to New Jersey to Arkansas, simply didn't care.

Regulators also have known (or should know), based on the March 2020 indictments, that a representative for one of the owners of the Navarro-trained Nanoosh (according to Equibase, he was owned by Zayat Stables, Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen) was on a conference call with the trainer discussing the horse's poor performances. According to the federal indictment, that person asked whether Navarro was “giving them all the shit,” and, “Is this horse jacked out? Is he on f – – king pills or what or are we just f – – king…” Navarro said, “Everything … he gets everything.”

Has a single racing commission or board of stewards – in California where the indictment said the stable is based or in any other state – called in the horse's owners to discuss this phone call with Navarro?

I doubt it. The last thing many commissions want to do – especially those rife with conflicts of interest – is hold owners accountable. To repeat: Racing commissions do not care.

There is a reason The Jockey Club – which has no official role in regulating horse racing – hired 5 Stones Intelligence, the private investigation firm that began the doping probe eventually turned over to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. There was plenty of smoke coming from certain stables: incredible form reversals off the claim or private purchase, win percentages that defied logic and runners that would routinely re-break at the eighth pole. Jockey Club officials assumed there was fire associated with that smoke, and they were right.

There is also a reason The Jockey Club has been so adamant in pushing for federal legislation that would turn over medication, integrity and safety issues to a group like the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that oversees Olympic athletes and the UFC, among other sports. It is because state racing commissions are not capable of policing the sport adequately.

It remains to be seen whether the March 2020 round-up was just the tip of the iceberg of corruption and cheating in our game. Some people should be very nervous going forward. Others should be ashamed for letting it get to this point.

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Report: Florida Horseman Lichoa Receives Three-Month Jail Sentence On Money Laundering Charge

Central Florida horseman Alfredo Lichoa on Wednesday was sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to violating federal money laundering laws, according to a report in Bloodhorse.com.

Lichoa, who came to the U.S. from his native Venezuela 20 years ago, worked in the Ocala area as farm veterinarian for Franks Farm and more recently was general manager for the Iadisernia family's Northwest Farms. He began training horses in 2018 and it is in that role that he got caught up in an FBI investigation that would lead to the indictment of Lichoa and four other men.

According to the original indictment, Lichoa was identified to undercover FBI agents as someone who could help launder money through a racetrack horsemen's account. In a secretly recorded FBI sting operation, Lichoa accepted $50,000 he was told came from bribes made to corrupt Brazilian politicians.

The indictments were unsealed last March, shortly after another investigation yielded more than two dozen arrests in a doping probe that included charges against trainers Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro and others. Both investigations came out of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Lichoa pleaded guilty last October.

Prosecutors sought a sentence of 12 to 18 months, with half of the time allowed to be served by home detention. According to Bloodhorse.com, Judge Jed S. Rakoff may have been swayed by some of the 18 letters of support for Lichoa submitted by family members and horse industry professionals who have either worked with or done business with him.

Lichoa is to report to prison on Aug. 31, the delay being set so that he will have time to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before serving his term. Lichoa's attorney, in an appeal for home incarceration, had cited the high percentage of COVID cases in the federal prison system and suggested Lichoa was especially vulnerable because of health issues.