Lying to US Border Officials is Fraud
Toronto sports doctor Dr. Anthony Galea is accused to giving his athlete patients human growth hormone (HGH), which is a substance that is banned in almost all sports. Galea is charged with defrauding the United States Government because he lied to border agents as well as a number of drug charges.
According to the National Post, Galea is alleged to have made his assistant lie about the reasons for their trips to the United States while smuggling the supplies to administer the drug to their clients, many of which were high-profile celebrity athletes in the MLB, NFL along with PGA golfers such as Tiger Woods, who acknowledges being treated by Galea but denies receiving any illegal drugs.
Galea’s assistant waived her right to an attourney and is cooperating with investigators, and according to her the two have racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars administering the drugs across the border. $200,000 of which, came from three NFL athletes alone. The athletes also paid for the doctor to travel to see them.
No one is able to determine thus far if the drugs were for performance enhancement or to speed up healing of injuries, as both drugs have the potential to do either. Colleagues, however maintain that the doctor’s specialty is helping athletes with injuries heal faster, and previous Canadian patients of the doctor include Patrick Chan and Donvovan Bailey.
Never lie to US Border Officials when crossing the border
Whether his reasons for crossing the US border were for business, were honourable or were suspicious and illegal, lying to United States border officials is an extremely serious charge, and in this case is considered equal to defrauding the government.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
