By T. D. Thornton
Two assistants to a pair of already-convicted Standardbred trainers in the 2020 racehorse doping conspiracy scandal avoided prison terms beyond their time already served on Wednesday when a judge in United States District Court (Southern District of New York) sentenced them each to two years of supervised release and joint responsibility for monetary penalties. Both had cooperated with authorities in obtaining the convictions of others in the network, according to court documents.
Conor Flynn, who worked for the former trainer Richard Banca, pleaded guilty to one felony count of drug alteration and misbranding conspiracy, with two similar felony charges against him dropped, according to the court docket.
Brandon Simpson, who worked for the former trainer Renee Allard, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. via drug alteration and misbranding conspiracy, the docket stated.
According to a pre-sentencing report filed by his counsel, Flynn “timely accepted full responsibility for his ill-advised actions in a horse doping scheme organized by his then-employer and direct supervisor, Richard Banca [and] Dr. Louis Grasso, a licensed veterinarian who treated horses trained by Banca.
“Although Conor participated in the scheme, he played a minor role. Conor did not devise the scheme. Conor did not profit from the scheme, did not expect to profit from the scheme, and did not receive a raise or bonus in exchange for his participation in the scheme,” Flynn's court filing continued. “Squarely put, Conor, an unsophisticated young man with only a high school diploma, who desperately wanted to move up into Banca and Dr. Grasso's prominent horse racing circle, simply got caught up in Banca and Dr. Grasso's culture of misdeeds, ill-gotten power, and greed.”
According to a pre-sentence report filed by his counsel, Simpson admitted that he “assisted Mr. Allard in administering performance-enhancing drugs on a day of a race to enhance a horses race performance. In addition, Mr. Simpson also assisted in obtaining prescription drugs that were obtained without valid prescriptions, and those drugs were administered to racehorses in violation of the applicable racing rules and regulations.
“Significantly, Mr. Simpson does not hide from his illegal conduct. In fact, it is quite the opposite,” Simpson's court filing continued. “Mr. Simpson, after being contacted by authorities, agreed to cooperate with federal agents and prosecutors in an attempt to assist them in their efforts against other individuals and he did so knowing that it was the right thing to do in order to help in some way to right his wrongful behavior.”
The judgment on the court docket stated that Flynn must pay $16,220,794 in restitution that is “joint and several” with Bianca and a $129,975 forfeiture that is “joint and several” with Grasso.
Simpson's judgment stated that he must pay $31,435,782 restitution that is “joint and several” with Grasso and a $628,553 forfeiture that is “joint and several” with Allard.
Grasso in 2022 got sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. Banca was sentenced to 30 months. Allard got 27 months.
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