Matthew S. Greacen Sentenced in FDA Steroid Fraud Scheme

A New York man has been nailed for his role in a shadowy operation to flood the U.S. market with dangerous, unapproved drugs disguised as dietary supplements. Matthew S. Greacen, 50, of Pt. Byron, N.Y., was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Virginia, after pleading guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Greacen, former president of Skaneateles, N.Y.-based Nature’s Chemistry, helped orchestrate a scheme that imported raw, unregulated drug powders from China into Danville, Va., and shipped them across the country. At the center of the scam: methasterone, better known on the black market as Superdrol — a powerful, steroid-like substance never approved for human consumption.

The product was marketed as a safe nutritional supplement, but federal investigators say it posed serious health risks, including liver damage and cardiovascular collapse. ‘Selling dangerous drugs disguised as harmless dietary supplements places the health of U.S. consumers at risk,’ said Special Agent in Charge Mark A. McCormack of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. ‘Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who ignore this very real threat to public health.’

Greacen was handed a two-year probation sentence, with four months of mandatory home confinement. He was also ordered to forfeit $55,000 in illicit proceeds. His co-conspirator, James Mills, was previously sentenced to two years’ probation and a $1,000 fine — a slap on the wrist compared to the damage done.

The case was the result of a sprawling federal investigation led by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, targeting a supply chain that turned underground labs into profit machines. Raw powders were processed, repackaged, and sold online and through supplement retailers with zero oversight — all while bypassing FDA regulations meant to protect American consumers.

Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case for the government. Authorities say the crackdown is part of a broader push to dismantle networks profiting from the sale of unregulated, potentially deadly substances. For Greacen, the gig is up — but the underground steroid market keeps pumping.

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