Aurora Man Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Operating Illegal Steroid Lab out of His Home

CHICAGO — An Aurora man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for manufacturing illegal steroids and distributing them to dozens of customers.

CHRISTOPHER C. HICKSON, 25, used bulk powders he had imported from China to manufacture anabolic steroid pills.  Hickson operated a makeshift laboratory in his Aurora residence and distributed the pills to more than 100 customers in the United States and Canada.

The case against Hickson was part of “Operation Cyber Juice,” a federal investigation that targeted the illegal importation of steroids purchased overseas and manufactured in the United States.

Hickson previously pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy and one count of money laundering.  In addition to the 24-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood on Monday ordered Hickson to pay a $100,000 personal money judgment.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Dennis A. Wichern, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Craig Goldberg, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.

In October 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a Chinese parcel addressed to Hickson’s residence.  A laboratory analysis determined that the parcel contained approximately 436 grams of the powder Stanozolol, a steroid classified as a Schedule III controlled substance.  A court-authorized search of Hickson’s home in November 2014 revealed steroid powder, more than 1,000 vials filled with liquid steroids, and hundreds of steroid pills and capsules.  Hickson labeled his steroid brand “Rift Labs” and “truelab.”

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman.