A man has been charged with drug distribution in connection in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Eric Lira was charged with violating the Rodchenkov Act, making him the first person to be prosecuted under the new legislation.
Following claims that a man supplied medications to athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, prosecutors filed the first criminal complaint under the Rodchenkov Act against the individual in question.
Texas-based psychiatrist Eric Lira is accused of peddling a wide range of prescription drugs, including human growth hormone, on the black market.
In their statement, prosecutors stated that his actions were carried out “with the goal of polluting the Olympics.”
With the passage of the Rodchenkov Act, which became law in 2020, prosecutors will be able to investigate anyone who is participating in doping programs at sporting events that feature athletes from the United States of America.
The possibility of criminal sanctions, such as jail sentences of up to 10 years and fines of up to $1 million (£730,000), exists.
In honor of Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, who fled the country after becoming involved in state-sponsored doping in sports and ultimately becoming a victim of international terrorism, the law was named in his honor on July 1, 2013.
It is the first time that a person has been tried under this act, and Lira has been sentenced to a year in federal prison. He is also accused of conspiring with others to violate the United States’ anti-misbranding and anti-adulteration laws by manufacturing counterfeit medications.
Athletes in the United States were allegedly provided with medicine by the defendant, who apparently obtained “misbranded” versions of drugs from sources in Central and South America, which are essentially illegal in competitive sports around the world.
In the United States, conspiring to break misbranding laws can result in a maximum term of five years in prison.
