Reports: Navarro sobs in court as judge sentences him to five years in prison over PED case – Horse Racing News

Damian Williams, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that the accused JORGE NAVARRO were today sentenced to sixty months in prison for his leading role in the charges of brand abuse and drug adulteration resulting from this office’s investigation of animal abuse through the use of performance enhancing drugs and as billed in United States v. Navarro et al., 20 Cr. 160 (MKV). NAVARRO was convicted by US District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who further ordered NAVARRO to pay $ 26,860,514 in restitution for the fraud perpetrated as part of its doping program.

US Attorney Damian Williams said: “Jorge Navarro’s case reflects the failures, greed and corruption at virtually every level of the professional horse racing world. For money and fame, corrupt trainers went to more and more extremes to dope the horses in their care. Unscrupulous owners, who profited directly, encouraged and pressured coaches to win at all costs. Vets who had sworn to care for and protect their patients routinely violated their oaths to serve corrupt trainers and to line their pockets. The assistants and grooms have all witnessed animal abuse in the service of greed, but have done little to stop such conduct and have gone out of their way to support the notoriously corrupt trainers. Structures designed to protect the abused horses in this case have repeatedly failed; elements of the industry – owners, vets and trainers – have flouted the rules and ignored the health of their animals while hypocritically casting a love for the horses under their control and ostensible protection. The keystone of this structure of abuse, corruption and duplicity was Jorge Navarro, a trainer who treated his animals as consumable goods in the service of his “sport”. Today’s sentence rightly condemns the danger inherent in Navarro’s crime and reflects the seriousness with which this Office takes the type of abuse Navarro has practiced.

Based on the allegations contained in the indictment, previous indictments and other documents filed in this case[1], and statements during legal proceedings:

The costs in the Navarro This case arises from an investigation of schemes prevalent by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, PED distributors and others to manufacture, distribute and receive falsified and mislabeled PEDs and to secretly administer these PEDs to horses. racing competing at all levels of professional horse racing. By circumventing PED bans and fooling horse racing regulators and officials, participants in these programs have sought to improve racing performance and earn cash prizes from racetracks across the United States and others. countries, including New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), all to the detriment and risk of the health and welfare of racehorses. Trainers, such as NAVARRO, who participated in the programs were able to capitalize on the success of the racehorses under their control by earning a share of their horses ‘earnings and improving their horses’ racing records, earning them honoraria. trainer higher and increased the number of racehorses under their control. Veterinarians, including those that NAVARRO has led in the corrupt administration of illegal substances, have profited from the sale and administration of these medically unnecessary, mislabeled and falsified substances.

NAVARRO secretly exploited its doping program, importing mislabeled ‘clenbuterol’ that it both used and distributed to others, avoiding any explicit discussion of DEPs on phone calls and working with others to coordinate administration of PEDs at times when race officials would not detect such cheating. . Among the horses that NAVARRO trained and spiked was XY Jet, a thoroughbred horse that won the 2019 Golden Shaheen race in Dubai. Among NAVARRO’s favorite DEPs were various ‘blood consumption’ drugs, which, when given before intense physical exertion, can lead to heart problems or death.

NAVARRO’s crime was far from a mere error in judgment. Instead, NAVARRO has embarked on repeated and persistent efforts to cheat over the years, scouring various supply sources and researching aggressive new ways to illegally dope horses. Throughout this time, NAVARRO has maintained a casual attitude towards its dangerous and illegal driving. NAVARRO, notoriously known in the horse racing world as “Juice Man” due to his routine doping, kept a pair of custom shoes in his barn with the words “#JUICE MAN” on the front:

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In addition to the prison sentence, NAVARRO was ordered to pay compensation in the amount of $ 26,860,514, reflecting the gains obtained through its fraudulent doping program.

Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Office Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force and its support for the Office for Integrity in Sports and Gaming initiative. This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Deputy Prosecutors for the United States Sarah Mortazavi, Andrew C. Adams, Benet Kearney and Anden Chow are in charge of the prosecution.