ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 45-year-old St. Petersburg man has pleaded guilty to producing and selling performance-enhancing drugs made at various locations in Florida, including a "trailer park," the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
William Bagwell was the owner and operator of Freedom Pharma, which surreptitiously sold homemade anabolic steroids through email using the forum of a bodybuilding website, court documents show.
Bagwell and his co-defendants ordered the raw materials for the drugs from China, produced them in Florida and sold them to customers all around the county, investigators said.
“The drugs offered were typically those popular with bodybuilders to maximize the effects of their training – like anabolic steroids – as well as drugs that blunted the side effects of steroid abuse, such as the breast cancer drug tamoxifen,” a federal indictment said.
Bagwell took cash and checks as payment for the drugs, as well as less traceable methods like Bitcoin and reloadable gift cards, investigators said.
His company advertised the drugs using their brand names, such as Turinabol, Dianabol and Anadrol, all anabolic steroids.
Bagwell operated the illegal drug production company from January 2013 to November 2015, court documents said.
Bagwell pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing and distributing performance-enhancing drugs.
He faces a maximum prison sentence of 5 years and $250,000 in fines.