By HRI Foreign Staff — Jordan Fishman has pleaded guilty to a charge of drug adulteration and misbranding, changing his plea from not guilty to guilty – as was expected – before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on Wednesday.
Fishman was charged as part of a case that had over two dozen trainers, vets, and other individuals taken to task on the back of an investigation into a horse doping ring. Veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman was also charged but the former Fishman claims to be of no relation, though the two had a working relationship.
The 63-year-old admitted to formulating misbranded and adulterated drugs from 2017 to 2020 in his testimony, claiming the materials and instructions were provided by Seth Fishman. He also admitted to following said instructions in order to compound vitamins, amino acids, nutraceuticals, steroids, and inflammatory drugs, as well as shipping the finished products to Seth’s base in Florida and sometimes overseas. The products are said to have been shipped to Seth without labels as the vet preferred labeling himself. Per documents filed in court, Seth Fishman is understood to have business associates in the United Arab Emirates.
“From 2017 to March of 2020, I aided in the formulation of misbranded and adulterated drugs,” Fishman said. “These were shipped in interstate commerce to Florida to Seth Fishman, and these were formulations that were designed, marketed, and distributed by Seth Fishman and others. Seth Fishman provided the materials and formula requests, and then I made the solutions consistent with these formulas.
“These formulas included vitamins, amino acids, nutraceuticals, and some steroid drugs and anti-inflammatories. I placed these into unmarked vials, and they were shipped overseas in some cases, and they were also shipped to Florida. And that should not have been done – I take responsibility for that.”
Fishman did not specify as to where exactly he shipped the products but pointed out that Seth Fishman distributed them through his company, Equestology. He claimed not to know that the products were specifically for racehorses though he was aware that the vet was involved with racehorses.
Prosecutors disclosed that they would have presented wiretap information from Seth Fishman’s phone, evidence from a Dropbox account, and emails between the two parties acknowledging the FDA was interested in their activities had the matter gone to trial.
Fishman, who says he has a Ph.D. in carcinogenesis and toxicology, is the president and major shareholder of Twenty First Century Biochemicals, a company that produces customized peptides and amino acids, per a document filed against Jordan Fishman by Seth Fishman in a civil suit that started two months prior to federal indictments.
Fishman was accused of falsely inflating the value of company stock, as well as failing to repay loans or complete work previously paid for. The suit claimed that Fishman had paid at least $1.25 million to Twenty First Century since they started working together in 2011. The case was settled out of court in January this year.
Fishman will be sentenced in February 2022 and faces up to three years in prison, which is the maximum sentence for the aforementioned offense according to the statute. That could come with one year of supervised release.
Fishman could also pay a fine of up to $10,000, twice the financial gain or twice the cost of two victims but that would depend on the amount that is the largest. Attorneys, though, have revealed they have an agreement in place that will see him spend no more than 12-18 months in federal prison and pay a fine between $5,000 and $55,000.
In other horse racing news, Pleasant Acres Stallions has announced that No Never No More, the son of Scat Daddy, will be relocated to Florida for the 2022 breeding season with a fee of $2,500.
Scat Daddy was a winner of a number of multiple Grade 1 races with $1,334,300 earned in prize money. He is parent to eight crops of racing age and boasts 134 stake winners, 15 champions, and 791 winners who have collected over $93 million. 24 of the Scat Daddy two-year-olds sold for nearly $12 million in 2018, per BloodHorse MarketWatch data, and the best online sportsbooks should take that into consideration when handing out odds on them.
Photo via: Flickr.com
“No Never No More is a handsome, athletic individual with a lovely head and kind eye. He exudes pure class as his pedigree would suggest,” owner Irwin Olian said.
Pleasant Acres Stallions has been on the end of many accolades for excellence, including the 2017 Florida Freshman Sire of the Year for Poseidon’s Warrior, the 2017 DRF Florida-bred Beyer Award, the 2009 Florida Breeder of the Year, the 2009 Florida Broodmare of the Year, and the Breeder of the 2009 Horse of the Year. It was ranked third in the nation for leading breeders by average earnings per starter with 10 or more starters in 2009.
