Fishman Attorney, Government File Motions over Evidence

Lawyers representing the government and suspended veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman argued in court documents filed this week over the admissibility of evidence at trial.

He is one of more than two dozen individuals charged in a large-scale horse-doping scheme to distribute misbranded and adulterated drugs, a group that includes trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. While Navarro and others have changed their plea to guilty, Fishman and Servis are among those that have maintained not-guilty pleas and could face trial early next year.

Maurice Sercarz, counsel for Fishman, asked Mary Kay Vyskocil, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, for an order precluding the introduction of evidence related to a Delaware investigation in 2011; three categories of proffered "other crimes" evidence; evidence obtained from the defendant pursuant to a limited grant of immunity; and specific expert testimony from government witnesses.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams wrote in documents filed this week that the evidence is admissible. Among the evidence he wrote he wishes to introduce at trial includes an alleged human growth hormone with erythropoietin provided by Fishman for administration to Standardbred racehorses owned and raced by David Brooks. Brooks was convicted of fraud.

According to Williams, Fishman and fellow defendant Lisa Giannelli, through a company called Equestology, specifically targeted clients in the racehorse industry, selling dozens of drugs purported to have performance-enhancing capabilities.

Fishman and Giannelli could go to trial as early as in the first quarter of 2022.