Second Columbia resident pleads guilty in steroid investigation

COLUMBIA — A second Columbia resident in as many days pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the largest black market steroid investigation in U.S. history.

April Dawn Wilson, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to participating in a conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and to money laundering, said a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Missouri. As part of a plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office dismissed minor charges in return for her two guilty pleas. On Monday, her former husband, Bryan G. Wilson, 39, pleaded guilty to similar charges.

Both convictions are the result of Operation Raw Deal, an international investigation targeting the illegal marketing and manufacturing of anabolic steroids, and a related investigation in Missouri called Operation Juice Box, the release said. Investigators found that between 2003 and 2007, the Wilsons ordered chemicals and steroid powders on the Internet, converted them to pills and liquids and distributed them across the country through the U.S. Postal Service and other carriers.

April Wilson admitted Tuesday that in November 2005, she transferred a cashier's check worth $15,000; money that came from the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids, the release said. She also admitted that between 2002 and 2007, she and her former husband deposited a total of $874,023 into shared bank accounts, including $519,402 in cash deposits.

April Wilson faces a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole and a fine of up to $500,000. Bryan G. Wilson faces up to 30 years in prison with a fine of up to $1 million.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following pre-sentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office.