Three Florida Residents Sentenced for Operating an Illegal Steroid and Counterfeit Prescription Drug Lab

       Montgomery, Alabama – Three Chipley, Florida residents were sentenced yesterday to serve time in federal prison for their involvement in a steroid and counterfeit prescription drug lab in Northwest Florida, announced Louis V. Franklin, Sr., United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.   

       Ryan Anthony Sikora (24) was sentenced to 41 months in prison, Ariel Anna Murphy (29) to 12 months, and John Joseph Bush, II (26) was sentenced to 8 months.  The three received their sentences after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges for importing, manufacturing, and distributing anabolic steroids as well as counterfeit prescription drugs. 

       The investigation began when United States Postal Inspectors determined that large amounts of steroid and counterfeit prescription drug ingredients were being shipped from China to various locations in South Alabama and Northwest Florida.   The defendants mass-produced counterfeit pills at a lab near Chipley, Florida using two large-scale pill presses.  They marketed the counterfeit drugs online using the brand name “Future Pharma” and they would typically process the orders through encrypted email, and then use the United States Postal Service to send the contraband products across the United States.

       U.S. Attorney Franklin would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance with this case: The United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Washington County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, and the Chipley, Florida Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bradley Bodiford.