Garcia Gets 10 Months in Doping Case Tied to Navarro

Dr. Erica Garcia was sentenced Dec. 12 in federal court to 10 months in federal prison stemming from her role in the Jorge Navarro horse doping scandal.

The sentence followed an August plea agreement admitting to two misdemeanor charges of engaging in interstate commerce with adulterated and misbranded drugs and administering them to racehorses trained by Navarro. An agreed money judgment of $18,276.68 was imposed along with one year of supervised release. Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil presided.

Navarro is serving five years after pleading guilty in the same New York courtroom one year ago.

Garcia asked for probation for what was described as a "relatively limited role in the conspiracy" by attorneys Deborah Colson and Aaron Mysliwiec. They pointed to Garcia's lack of a prior criminal record; her regret for wrongful conduct; two years of making amends; establishment of a rebuilt career in small animal practice in Florida; and being the "primary caretaker and sole provider for her eleven-year-old daughter."

Assistant U. S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi asked for consistency with federal guidelines, in this case, 24 months' incarceration. Her crimes "involved Garcia's participation in a years-long scheme to administer unnecessary and potentially dangerous drugs to racehorses" for Navarro, according to the submission.

"At the time Garcia agreed to administer these drugs—and during the course of the offense conduct—Garcia believed these drugs to have performance-enhancing effects, and was otherwise ignorant of their precise ingredients and how they were manufactured," Mortazavi wrote.