Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Unapproved SARMs

PHOENIX — Jeffrey McIndoo and his company JeffMac Investments LLC, doing business as SARMS Pharm LLC, pleaded guilty Tuesday to selling illicit chemical substances known as selective androgen receptor modulators, known as SARMs.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the plea in U.S. District Court in Arizona. SARMs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for any use. The substances mimic the effects of anabolic steroids when ingested.

McIndoo faces sentencing on a date not yet scheduled. Federal law prohibits the introduction of unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce. The plea resolves charges that SARMS Pharm sold these compounds directly to consumers, primarily bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts seeking muscle growth and performance enhancement without a prescription.

The case forms part of a broader Justice Department and FDA enforcement initiative targeting the online SARMs market. No fine amount was disclosed in the plea announcement.

WHAT IT CHANGES: Prior to the plea, McIndoo and SARMS Pharm operated without federal admission of liability. The guilty plea establishes criminal liability and requires McIndoo to accept responsibility under federal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing will now proceed under the Controlled Substances Act and Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act provisions governing unapproved drugs.

WHY IT MATTERS DOWNSTREAM: The conviction requires the court to calculate a sentence that may include prison time, supervised release, and forfeiture of assets tied to the business. It obligates the FDA to continue monitoring SARMS Pharm's activities and gives prosecutors leverage in related investigations of suppliers or co-distributors.

Other online vendors now face clearer precedent that distribution of unapproved SARMs carries criminal penalties, potentially prompting compliance reviews or voluntary market exits before further charges.

CONTEXT: The Justice Department has pursued similar cases against SARMs sellers in multiple districts since the FDA first warned in 2017 that the compounds pose serious health risks including liver toxicity and cardiovascular events. This marks the latest guilty plea obtained through the department's coordinated effort with the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations to dismantle the underground market for these substances.