A Baldwin County man has been sentenced to three years of probation after admitting he took part in a conspiracy to sell anabolic steroids to people working out at local gyms. U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer handed down the sentence, which also included a $5,000 fine for Michael Wallace Phelps of Daphne.
Phelps pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge in January. According to his written plea agreement, he advertised his services as a coach, trainer and consultant through Facebook posts starting in October 2020. He admitted to distributing steroids from his home and other locations, including stanozolol, sold under the brand name Winstrol, and nandrolone decanoate, sold under the brand name Deca-Durabolin, along with testosterone cypionate and testosterone enanthate.
Court records show Phelps routinely placed orders for the illegal steroids and had them shipped directly to his home. Investigators built their case in part using shipping records: federal agents obtained records from FedEx confirming a package had been delivered to the Daphne address, and agents observed Phelps driving away from the home in a Nissan Rogue on Oct. 2, 2020, before visiting several parking lots around Baldwin County.
The following week, the Drug Enforcement Administration received information about two additional packages mailed from Jupiter, Florida, both addressed to the same Daphne residence. A U.S. postal inspector obtained a search warrant to open the second package and discovered three bottles of Clenbuterol and one bottle of Letrozole inside. Clenbuterol is frequently paired with steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs because of its ability to increase muscle mass, while Letrozole, a hormone-based chemotherapy drug that reduces estrogen production, is commonly used by body builders to help offset the side effects of anabolic steroid use.
According to the plea agreement, a cooperating witness working with federal investigators met Phelps at Exit 57 off Interstate 65 in Escambia County near Atmore to pick up steroids that had been ordered as part of a workout program Phelps recommended. The witness, who trained at a local gym in Atmore, began working with Phelps in 2017. Phelps admitted he offered to train the witness for a fee and provided workout routines, diets, and the specific type and quantity of steroids needed to make progress.
The plea agreement also includes transcripts of text messages exchanged between Phelps and others involved in the scheme. In one message from 2019 included in the court record, Phelps told a customer, “I have another 500 for you.and if I don’t get to come up I’ll Venmo it (although I’d rather give you cash because I hate a trail).”
Federal prosecutions involving performance-enhancing drug distribution are relatively uncommon in South Alabama, and the case highlights how informal coaching and gym relationships can sometimes cross into illegal drug distribution when unregulated substances are involved.