Four Arizona Residents Charged with Anabolic Steroid-Trafficking Conspiracy in Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

MOBILE, AL – A federal grand jury in Mobile returned an indictment charging four Arizona residents with a yearslong anabolic steroids-trafficking conspiracy. According to court documents, Laura Stratton, 43, of Phoenix, Arizona, Brenna Eppley, 48, of Buckeye, Arizona, Benjamin Stratton, 39, of Avondale, Arizona, and Karissa Stratton, 33, of Avondale, Arizona conspired with one another and with other persons to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, which are schedule III controlled substances. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to traffic anabolic steroids to the Southern District of Alabama and elsewhere between October 2023 and July 2026. Between March 23, 2026, and March 30, 2026, Laura Stratton allegedly distributed anabolic steroids—namely, trenbolone enanthate and a substance containing detectable amounts of testosterone propionate, testosterone isocaproate, testosterone decanoate, and testosterone phenylpropionate—to the Southern District of Alabama. The indictment also includes a notice seeking forfeiture of two real properties in Phoenix and Avondale, three vehicles, and several cryptocurrency wallets and financial accounts, which are alleged to be proceeds of and property used to facilitate the conspiracy. The defendants made their initial court appearances in Arizona and Montana on August 5 and August 6, 2026. They are scheduled to make their initial court appearances in the Southern District of Alabama on August 26, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sonja F. Bivins. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Mesa, Arizona Police Department, and the Avondale, Arizona Police Department are investigating the case. U.S. Attorney Costello thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona for its exceptional coordination and assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Mobile comprises agents and officers from, among others, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.