Three Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Steroids

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On July 28, 2017, United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced Jeffrey B. Lackas, Stanley Szeto, and Daniel Cruz-Bonilla for conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids, announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. Lackas, Szeto, and Cruz-Bonilla were members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for the distribution of anabolic steroids and human-growth hormones throughout the country. Between July of 2011, and March of 2015, the organization operated under the internet name of “Brinkkmann Pharma,” and the defendants distributed anabolic steroids and human growth hormones obtained from a source in China.

Lackas, 31, from Bettendorf, Iowa, was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Szeto, 39, from Iowa City, Iowa, was sentenced to 25 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $6,000 fine. Cruz-Bonilla, 30, from Fontana, California, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Each defendant was ordered to pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

The Omaha Police Department in Nebraska, Douglas County Nebraska Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Narcotic Enforcement, Nebraska State Patrol, Iowa City Police Department, United States Border Patrol, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Learn more about this release by calling Rachel J. Scherle at 515-473-9300, or by emailing her at Rachel.Scherle@usdoj.gov.