Pharmagen ? Underground Lab Busted!
by Brandon Lyons
We haven?t seen a big Underground Lab get busted in awhile, probably not since last Winter ? so for those of you who get antsy when there haven?t been any busts in awhile, this one should chill you out for awhile. The huge underground lab Pharmagen, out of Oregon, got busted a few days ago. To be honest, I haven?t kept up with the UGLs like I probably should, but this one has been operating since just before ORD, way back in 2006, so I?m actually very familiar with them. They were active on Steroid.com and EliteFitness.com, most of the little sites, and they were run by a bunch of NPC bodybuiders.
Shane Jack and Landon Britt were the two primary owners of the lab. Shane competed in the NPC, mostly in local shows, as did Landon. Shane also happened to be a ?contest prep coach? for NPC Athletes, and his wife Georgia was named in the indictment as an accomplice.
Brandon Lyons was also named in the indictment, and just like Shane and his wife, was a competitive bodybuilder and worked with NPC athletes for contest prep. The indictment also names numerous defendants, some in Oregon, others in Washington, California, and farther east: James Longoria Jr., of Clackamas, Matthew Bowen of Tualatin, Christopher Bowden of Beaverton, Travis Monteith of Fairview, Bradley Hollibaugh of Otis Orchards, Wash., Ali Shaghaghi of Seattle, Benjamin Luck and German Martin McCubbin, who live in California and Keith Kofoed who lives in California and North Carolina.
Since 2008, they received 68 shipments and sent about 50 wire transfers to China. Britt sent $96,299 from Western Union to China between 2006 and June 2012, and also transferred $369, 875 to Chinese companies, direct from his bank account. Stupid, stupid, stupid?they were also selling recs and operating a grow spot for marijuana, plus they got caught with guns ? which means they?re looking at a ton of federal time if they?re convicted (they?ll cut a plea deal before that happens, though). I believe you need identification for anything over $1,000 for Western Union, but I could be mistaken, or they could have changed the rules. Either way, when you get up to these kinds of quantities, obviously BitCoin is a far better option.
I?m somewhat amazed that these guys weren?t busted sooner ? they were running a pretty large operation, and sending wire transfers to China from your own personal account is pretty f/cking stupid. Perhaps they thought that their legitimate business, S&J Motors, would provide enough of a cover for their illicit activities ? which sounds like a fine plan at first, but when you consider the fact that they posted pictures of their products online ? using their own business as the backdrop for the pics ? well, once again, I?m shocked that they weren?t caught sooner.
by Brandon Lyons
We haven?t seen a big Underground Lab get busted in awhile, probably not since last Winter ? so for those of you who get antsy when there haven?t been any busts in awhile, this one should chill you out for awhile. The huge underground lab Pharmagen, out of Oregon, got busted a few days ago. To be honest, I haven?t kept up with the UGLs like I probably should, but this one has been operating since just before ORD, way back in 2006, so I?m actually very familiar with them. They were active on Steroid.com and EliteFitness.com, most of the little sites, and they were run by a bunch of NPC bodybuiders.
Shane Jack and Landon Britt were the two primary owners of the lab. Shane competed in the NPC, mostly in local shows, as did Landon. Shane also happened to be a ?contest prep coach? for NPC Athletes, and his wife Georgia was named in the indictment as an accomplice.
Brandon Lyons was also named in the indictment, and just like Shane and his wife, was a competitive bodybuilder and worked with NPC athletes for contest prep. The indictment also names numerous defendants, some in Oregon, others in Washington, California, and farther east: James Longoria Jr., of Clackamas, Matthew Bowen of Tualatin, Christopher Bowden of Beaverton, Travis Monteith of Fairview, Bradley Hollibaugh of Otis Orchards, Wash., Ali Shaghaghi of Seattle, Benjamin Luck and German Martin McCubbin, who live in California and Keith Kofoed who lives in California and North Carolina.
Since 2008, they received 68 shipments and sent about 50 wire transfers to China. Britt sent $96,299 from Western Union to China between 2006 and June 2012, and also transferred $369, 875 to Chinese companies, direct from his bank account. Stupid, stupid, stupid?they were also selling recs and operating a grow spot for marijuana, plus they got caught with guns ? which means they?re looking at a ton of federal time if they?re convicted (they?ll cut a plea deal before that happens, though). I believe you need identification for anything over $1,000 for Western Union, but I could be mistaken, or they could have changed the rules. Either way, when you get up to these kinds of quantities, obviously BitCoin is a far better option.
I?m somewhat amazed that these guys weren?t busted sooner ? they were running a pretty large operation, and sending wire transfers to China from your own personal account is pretty f/cking stupid. Perhaps they thought that their legitimate business, S&J Motors, would provide enough of a cover for their illicit activities ? which sounds like a fine plan at first, but when you consider the fact that they posted pictures of their products online ? using their own business as the backdrop for the pics ? well, once again, I?m shocked that they weren?t caught sooner.