Chan Pleads Guilty to Doping; Servis Case Is Next

Dr. Alexander Chan, who served as a veterinarian for indicted former trainer Jason Servis, pleaded guilty on Dec. 5 to an amended charge for his role in what was alleged to be a conspiracy to dope racehorses along with mail and wire fraud.

Chan pleaded guilty to one count of drug misbranding and adulteration in interstate commerce. In addition, a money judgment of $311,760 was put in place that will become part of his sentencing at an yet to be specified date. The money judgment represents the value of forfeitable property for which Chan is jointly and severally liable with co-defendant Dr. Kristian Rhein, who is already serving time in federal prison on a related charge.

Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ordered the money judgment will not be considered satisfied in full until one of the following occurs: a money judgment against Rhein is fully satisfied by Rhein, or payment is made by Chan of $50,000 within five years following the later of his sentencing date or release from incarceration. In the event Chan's judgment is not satisfied as described, the entire $311,760 will be due.

Chan, a New York-based veterinarian, was originally indicted in early 2020 for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and administer adulterated or misbranded performance-enhancing drugs administered to racehorses. He was among over two dozen people charged for doping offenses at the time. A superseding indictment filed Nov. 5 of the same year included those charges along with mail and wire fraud conspiracy against three defendants: Chan, trainer Jason Servis, and Rhein, who like Chan was a licensed veterinarian.

Rhein pleaded guilty on Aug. 3, 2021, to a charge of administering and distributing adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs to Servis and hiding his activity from regulators. He was sentenced Jan. 5, 2022 to a prison term of 36 months and was ordered to pay a forfeiture of $1,021,800, restitution of $729,716 and a $10,000 fine. Rhein paid $671,800 toward the forfeiture order the day he was sentenced, leaving $350,000 owed.

Both Chan and Rhein were sentenced by Vyskocil in U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Vyskocil is scheduled to preside over the trial of co-defendant Servis beginning Jan. 9. Servis is the only person named in multiple related indictments who has not either negotiated a settlement or gone to trial. A court filing made last week indicated settlement talks in his case were in progress.

Entries made in the court's online docket system do not yet show a sentencing date for Chan.

The U. S. Attorney for New York's southern district is Damian Williams. Assistant U. S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi has been handling this case along with many other related ones. Attorney Neil Peter Kelly, a federal public defender with an impressive background in private practice, has represented Chan since his June entry of appearance in the case.