CEO of Bodybuilding.com guilty of selling steroids
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Federal prosecutors say the founder of an online fitness and bodybuilding company in Idaho has pleaded guilty to selling misbranded dietary supplements containing illegal steroids.
Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan Deluca agreed Monday to pay a $500,000 fine for the Meridian-based company’s sale of five products between 2007 and 2009 that contained synthetic anabolic steroids or chemical clones of steroids.
- Ryan DeLuca
DeLuca admits the five products, including I Force Methadrol and Rage RV5, were improperly sold as dietary supplements.
Each of the five violations the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act carries up to a year in prison, but in a plea deal prosecutors are recommending probation.
Federal officials raided the company’s headquarters in 2009 following a two-year investigation.
The FDA reported men using the products suffered an array of physical ailments.