{"id":1813,"date":"2014-05-12T13:52:59","date_gmt":"2015-06-06T17:28:14","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2015-06-19T17:59:09","modified_gmt":"2015-06-20T00:59:09","slug":"steroid-doc-going-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elitefitness.com\/articles\/steroid-doc-going-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"The Steroid Doc is going to jail!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Steroid Doctor is Going to Prison after Prescribing Steroids to Bodybuilders and NFL Players<\/p>\n

\"\"The man known as \u201cThe Steroid Doctor\u201d, James Shortt, has drawn international fame for prescribing steroids to NFL players and bodybuilders. Now his sentencing has finally come and there are several malpractice suits that are being waged against him as well.<\/p>\n

Steroid dealers have to watch their back more than ever nowadays as they are constantly being hunted by the DEA, police, and FBI. It almost seems fashionable for the authorities to chase after suppliers and dealers as huge steroid busts often draw big-time media attention. Everyone from personal trainers to bodybuilding gurus are being nabbed for selling roids in this revamped effort to keep professional sports clean.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s strange though is that we hardly ever see any medical doctors going down for being involved with illegal performance enhancing drugs. After all, doctors have the power to legally prescribe steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to anyone that they deem in need of such substances. Doctors will give steroids to men who have low testosterone levels and HIV patients who experience muscle wasting as well as HGH to children who aren\u2019t growing at a normal rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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But some doctors tend to try and seek out greater financial rewards with the power that they possess to prescribe drugs that fall into the steroid and HGH category. It is a known fact that bodybuilders and other athletes will approach medical doctors with the proposition of sizable sums of money in exchange for what they need. And it is for this very reason why it\u2019s surprising that we don\u2019t see more doctors getting busted for illegally prescribing steroids and HGH to people without the appropriate medical conditions.<\/p>\n

However, one doctor that did get entangled with the authorities (and in a big way) has made national and international headlines for his involvement in helping athletes get the stuff that they need. James Shortt, a.k.a. \u201cThe Steroid Doctor\u201d was all across the news after he was arrested for conspiring to illegally prescribe steroids and HGH to several NFL players from the Carolina Panthers.<\/p>\n

The story broke not long after the Panthers competed in Super Bowl 38 and involved a few key players from the game which included offensive linemen Todd Steussie and Jeff Mitchell as well as the man who is arguably the NFL\u2019s best punter, Todd Sauerbrun. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency claimed to have incriminating audio tapes that connected an alternative medicine physician from West Columbia, South Carolina named James Shortt to illegal steroid prescriptions for nine Carolina Panthers.<\/p>\n

These nine players would go on to testify against Shortt and this, along with the audio tapes, would eventually lead to his undoing. And for James Shortt, that undoing came just recently as he received his sentencing for attempting to prescribe steroids and HGH to NFL players in addition to other athletes such as bodybuilders.<\/p>\n

Barring any successful appeals, Shortt will be spending one year and one day in a federal prison and will also spend two years on supervised release. He was also ordered by the judge in the case to pay a somewhat light $500 fine. Shortt\u2019s sentence comes as the result of a guilty plea that helped him avoid the maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The guilty plea also called for the prosecution to drop some 42 other charges that were pending against him.<\/p>\n

James Shortt\u2019s recent court activity didn\u2019t end here though as he also had one of his malpractice suits recently come to a close. The family of Michael Bate, a man who died shortly after undertaking some unorthodox treatments from Shortt, has been awarded $200,000. This will be paid to his family through James\u2019 malpractice insurance because Shortt doesn\u2019t have enough assets to cover this amount.<\/p>\n

The 66 year-old Michael Bate had come to Dr. Shortt in 2003 seeking medical treatment for his prostate cancer. Shortt prescribed him with intravenous peroxide, a testosterone cream, and advised him to get a hold of and use Laetrile (a banned treatment for cancer that includes side effects similar to that of cyanide poisoning). A coroner ruled that Mr. Bate\u2019s death came as a result of cancer but the family was able to prove that the combination of drugs that Shortt prescribed for him rapidly advanced the cancer and caused Bate to die much earlier.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s interesting is that Shortt\u2019s troubles still haven\u2019t ended despite the fact that his malpractice and illegal prescription cases are over. He faces a state criminal investigation for the 2004 death of a Minnesota woman that has been ruled a homicide. After coming to Shortt in need of help for her multiple sclerosis, Katherine Bibeau was administered the same intravenous peroxide treatments that were given to Michael Bate.<\/p>\n

The results were disastrous as Katherine Bibeau died from what the doctor who did her autopsy, Clay Nichols, ruled as death by infusion of hydrogen peroxide. Dr. Nichols went on to say that there is no proven use for intravenous peroxide and that it\u2019s not a legitimate cure for any disease. This in turn, led the Richland County coroner to rule her death a homicide.<\/p>\n

James Shortt defended his actions by claiming that he\u2019s seen over 2000 people benefit from hydrogen peroxide treatments without incident. He even went as far as to tell the Bibeaus that people who had been in wheelchairs and received hydrogen peroxide treatments were now walking. Shortt also professed his innocence in this case by saying, \u201cI didn\\'t hurt that woman. I didn\\'t kill her. I think it was an unfortunate interaction between her condition and certain medications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether Shortt is speaking the truth or not, it\u2019s almost certain that his legal troubles won\u2019t be ending anytime soon. Troubles that began in 2004 when a Columbia bodybuilder confessed to a DEA agent that Dr. Shortt was known for prescribing steroids to patients who would agree to pay him $1000.<\/p>\n

The unidentified bodybuilder said that when he came to Shortt, he weighed about 215 pounds. After meeting with Shortt three times during a nine month span, the bodybuilder had put on 30 pounds of muscle. The bodybuilder said that Shortt had set him up with a Deca Durabolin prescription that allowed him to get the steroids legally. The DEA had been investigating Shortt ever since their meeting with this man.<\/p>\n

All of the recent troubles for James Shortt have culminated in him accepting that his days as a doctor are over. He expressed this sentiment when speaking of his illegal prescriptions case by saying, \u201cI have accepted the fact that my career is over. I certainly have no intention of ever doing it again.\u201d He won\u2019t re-apply for his suspended medical license either which pretty much means that \u201cThe Steroid Doctor\u201d is out of business for good.<\/p>\n

Here\\'s more on Dr. James Shortt, the NFL, BALCO and I.V. Hydrogen Peroxide:<\/p>\n