Baseball player tries to cover up steroid use with fake website
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San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was suspended 50 games last week, allegedly created a fictitious website and product to convince Major League Baseball he unwittingly took a banned substance.
However, MLB officials quickly were onto the ruse during the investigation of his positive test for a banned testosterone, the New York Daily News reported Sunday. The plot, which is being probed by federal authorities and MLB, could cause Cabrera more serious problems than his current ban.
Cabrera and his entourage were being investigated by, among others, Jeff Novitzky, a criminal investigative agent for the Food & Drug Administration after the All-Star Game MVP tested positive for using a synthetic testosterone.
Juan Nunez, who was called a paid consultant of Cabrera's agents, allegedly purchased a fraudulent website for $10,000 in July to try to prove the outfielder bought the testosterone from a source he thought was legit. Cabrera allegedly wanted it to appear he had ordered a supplement that caused a positive test. A clause in the MLB's collectively bargained drug program gives a player wiggle room to prove he inadvertently took a banned substance.
The website was part of Cabrera's defense that he was not responsible for his positive test. The meeting, which included Cabrera's agents, MLB officials and Players Association representatives, occurred before the outfielder was handed a 50-game suspension.
MLB officials, who quickly began asking questions, determined the website was promoting a topical cream that didn't exist.
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