Ordered to pay US$1,021,800 in forfeitures, pays US$671,800
As a veterinarian, Dr. Kristian Rhein was entrusted with overseeing the health and well-being of the racehorses in his care.
Sitting quietly in a Manhattan courtroom Jan. 5, Rhein somberly learned of the penalty for violating that trust as United States District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil sentenced him to a three-year prison term for his role in a race doping scheme that involved racehorses he treated for trainer and co-defendant Jason Servis.
Despite a request for home detention or probation from Rhein's attorney, Stephen Scaring, Vyskocil applied the full sentence recommended by prosecutors Aug. 3 when Rhein submitted a guilty plea to distributing adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs to Servis and then hiding his activity from regulators.
"This is a serious offense and was not an isolated or one-time offense," Vyskocil said in announcing the sentence. "It was a long-term and ongoing offense. Once he became aware of the investigation, he and his co-conspirators took steps to hide their offenses from regulators and the public. He has been depicted as someone who wants to help others, but he had that chance as a veterinarian and he abused that trust by betraying those he was supposed to help."
Rhein, Servis, and trainer Jorge Navarro are among more than two dozen individuals who have been indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the case. Rhein and others are suspended from racing. He became the fifth to be sentenced to either a prison term, time served, or probation and is one of 10 who have submitted a guilty plea. Another agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement in a case, which began in March 2020, and five more were not included in a superseding indictment.
Navarro received a five-year sentence Dec. 17 and is scheduled to report to federal officials for incarceration in mid-February.
In announcing the Rhein sentence, Vyskocil also voiced a need to send a message to others in horse racing and other sports who are using or contemplating using PEDs.
"I have little doubt Dr. Rhein learned his lesson, but a message of deterrence has to be sent to others in this sport and other sports that cannot be ignored," she said while emphasizing Rhein's role as a leader of the conspiracy.
Aside from his time in prison, his conviction was financially devastating to Rhein. He must pay $1,021,800 in forfeitures and handed the court a check for $671,800 toward that debt Wednesday. He is also facing $729,716 in restitution and was fined $10,000.
Following his release from prison, Rhein will be placed under one year of supervised release.
He was ordered to report to a yet-to-be-specified federal prison near his Long Island, N.Y., home March 5.
"I want to apologize to the victims whose trust I violated as a professional," Rhein said to the court prior to the announcement of the sentence. "I am ashamed of my actions and what I did was inexcusable. I did not work in the best interests of my patients and for that I am sorry. I have refocused my life and have learned humility and the value of selflessness."
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