Izhaki, defendant in illegal drug investigation, avoids prison time

Sarah Izhaki, one of the 27 defendants indicted in March of last year after a wide-ranging investigation into the use of illegal pharmaceuticals in horse racing, will avoid prison time in a sentence handed down on Monday after entering a guilty plea on charges related to unlawfully distributing adulterated and mis-branded drugs.

Izhaki, who received the sentence during a videoconference hearing in front of Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, will be confined to her home for 12 months and will be under three years of supervised release. Vyskocil cited a variety of health problems suffered by Izhaki and a “troubled upbringing” in disregarding the prosecution’s recommended sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison.

“In light of all of these conditions, the court has serious reservations about Ms. Izhaki’s ability, frankly, to cope with imprisonment,” Vyskocil said.

In indictments released last year, Izhaki was alleged to have sold a substance purported to be erythropoietin, the blood-doping substance, to undercover agents posing as representatives of horsemen. The indictment also included a wiretapped conversation in which Izhaki said that she could provide horsemen with a powerful drug-masking agent called “The Devil.”

Izhaki’s daughter Ashley Leibowitz was also indicted, but her case was deferred in December. The only other defendant in the case to plead guilty and be sentenced, Scott Robinson, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in March. Another defendant, Scott Mangini, entered a guilty plea in April.

The case has attracted enormous attention in the racing industry due to the indictments of top trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, who have both entered not guilty pleas. Trials in the case are expected to begin later this year.

Vyskocil said during the sentencing hearing that she viewed the light sentence given to Izhaki as a “one-off” while hinting that she does not foresee similar circumstances affecting the sentencing of other defendants.

“I recognize that there are more cases pending and people may well be looking at what the court does today, paying attention to this case and viewing it as a benchmark, a bellwether for other horse doping cases and for abuses in the industry in general,” Vyskocil said. “I want to say on the record, if you are doing that, you are making a mistake.”