An attorney from Los Angeles has pleaded guilty to importing and possession of anabolic steroids.
Erik Harald Moje, 40, has admitted importing raw steroid hormone powder from China and being in possession of thousands of dosage units of injectable steroid vials and steroid pills. He was busted when investigators found a false wall in his garage and is part of the national steroid crackdown named Operation Cyber Juice.
Before U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd, Moje confirmed to the court he was responsible for importing large quantities of raw hormone powder from Asia. Between Dec. 1, 2013 and September 2015, he illegally imported raw testosterone and steroid powder into the United States from a Chinese steroid supplier.
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) investigators first started looking into Moje and his activities in August 2014. Encrypted emails were subpoenaed and it was seen that he was in contact with a Chinese steroid powder supplier named ‘LEXXER’. Emails then confirmed purchasing details, bank account information and international money transfers were being used to send cash overseas as payment.
According to court documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) he routed shipments of steroids through a UPS mail-forwarding service in New York. In May 2015 one of these packs was intercepted. After analysis it contained one kilo of anabolic steroids. That’s not a small amount even in underground lab (UGL) terms.
Surveillance was put on Moje and officers observed him seeing a number of bodybuilders at his residence and not practicing much law. Enough was enough.
DEA agents then raided his home finding a false wall full of anabolic steroids. Found inside the fake wall was: 538 10ml vials of steroids such as, Trenbolone, Sustanon, Testosterone and Winstrol. Steroid tablets totally 17,700 were located including popular steroids Dianabol, Anavar and Anadrol 50.
Officers from U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Turlock Police Department and the Modesto Police Department all played roles in Moje and his arrest.
As Moje has pleaded guilty to all charges and forfeited his California home, prosecutors have stated they will not seek more than 11 months in jail. Moje faced up to 10 years and a fine of $500,000. His law career is also probably over after his conviction, although he is still a member of the State Bar of CA.
Sentencing is set for May 15.
Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/turlock-attorney-pleads-guilty-importation-steroids
