GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - On December 6, 2017, Kari Carter, 27, of Johnson City, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, to serve four months in prison for her role in a large illegal steroid conspiracy in east Tennessee. Upon her release from prison, she will be supervised by U.S. Probation for three years.
Carter was the final of 22 defendants charged in this scheme to be sentenced. All pleaded guilty and received the following sentences:
Defendant Name, Age, Residence
Prison Sentence
Supervised Release
Probation
Monetary Judgement
Forfeited Property
Joel Pasternak, 28,
Johnson City, Tennessee
108 months
3 years
$2.8 million
Edward Pasternak, 59, Newport, Tennessee
36 months
3 years
$100,000 (jointly with Lori Pasternak)
$68,866 cash and property valued at $80,000
Thomas Hensley Maxwell, 28,
Johnson City, Tennessee
30 months
3 years
$63,000
Daniel Boston, 33,
Versailles, Kentucky
27 months
3 years
$17,064
Heath Kershaw, 37, Fleetwood, North Carolina
21 months
3 years
$50,000
John Allen, 32,
Seminole, Florida
18 months
3 years
$35,000
Lori Pasternak, 52,
Newport, Tennessee
12 months + 1 day
3 years
$100,000 (jointly with Edward Pasternak)
$68,866 cash and property valued at $80,000
Matfey Lisovoy, 29, Knoxville, Tennessee
15 months
3 years
$40,000
Nathan Urrutia, 34,
Madison Heights, Michigan
15 months
3 years
$30,000
$20,840 cash
Christopher Jones, 37, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
37 months
3 years
$121,745
Glen Jenkins, 31,
Knoxville, Tennessee
4 months
3 years
$4300
William Gallant, 34, Sevierville, Tennessee
90 days
3 years
$33,000
Richard Hensley, 34, Memphis, Tennessee
5 years
$61,000
Jared Pasternak, 23,
Newport, Tennessee
5 years
$10,000
$4680 cash
Joshua Pasternak, 32, Sevierville, Tennessee
5 years
$10,000
Michael VanLeeuewen, 36, Memphis, Tennessee
4 years
Abigail Chester, 32, Farmington, New Mexico
4 years
$36,650
Mitchell Free, 32,
Lula, Georgia
4 years
$17,542
Lauren Dean, 27, Jonesborough, Tennessee
2 days
4 years
Pamela Little, 28,
Kingsport, Tennessee
3 years
$8000
Lindsey Smallman, 25, Johnson City, Tennessee
3 years
$8000
This scheme involved importing raw steroid powders shipped in misbranded packaging from China and other countries, which were converted to liquid, pill, and tablet form and marketed via the internet using the Incredible Hulk image and the name Hulkbody. Customers purchased the steroid products by sending money to Western Union, MoneyGram, and Walmart-to-Walmart Money Transfer using false identities. Over a three-year period, the Pasternak drug organization operated five different clandestine steroids labs in the Johnson City area, derived more than $2.8 million in criminal proceeds, engaged in thousands of sales transactions, and involved a total of 22 co-conspirators. Law enforcement officers found what is described as one of the largest clandestine steroids lab in the United States as part of the investigation.
Agencies involved in this investigation included the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Helen C.T. Smith and Frank M. Dale, Jr., represented the United States in court proceedings.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
