Fishman Hit With $10 Million Forfeiture Order

Dr. Seth Fishman, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence after being found guilty by a jury of  two counts of conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding, was ordered to pay a judgment of more than $10 million by a federal court judge.

The order was entered by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on July 7 in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

Fishman, who is serving time in Florida, argued through his attorney that the applicable statutes of conviction do not authorize a forfeiture order, and, according to Vyskocil, did not address the amount he might owe.

“The Court has painstakingly reviewed the governing law, the trial record, and the evidence presented in connection with the forfeiture hearing, including line-by-line review of various drugs and non-drug items Dr. Fishman’s company sold during the relevant period,” Vyskocil wrote. “For the reasons set forth below, the Court rules that…adulterated and misbranded drugs are ‘forfeitable’…and two other statutes…authorize the Court to impose a money judgment representing the approximate value of adulterated and misbranded drugs that Dr. Fishman caused to be sold or otherwise dissipated.”

Vyskocil wrote that the government proved Fishman, a veterinarian, “sold or dissipated approximately $10,312,627.40 worth of adulterated and misbranded drugs. The evidence at trial further demonstrated that, in addition to leading his own conspiracy, Dr. Fishman participated in a conspiracy led by Jorge Navarro….”

Navarro, a former Thoroughbred trainer, is serving a five-year sentence after entering a plea agreement. Fishman’s former assistant, Lisa Gianelli, was convicted during a jury trial and is serving a 3 1/2-year sentence.

Fishman’s operation was based in Florida, but Vyskocil wrote he also sold drugs overseas, primarily in the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

“For example,” Vyskocil wrote, “the government introduced emails in which a customer in the UAE requested ‘a thousand vials of equine growth hormone,’ and Dr. Fishman instructed an Equestology employee based in South Florida to ship the requested product to Dubai Equine Hospital.”

Vyskocil’s order departed from an earlier preliminary order she signed that called for a $13,503,176.20 judgment. Her ruling said the government carried its burden of proof on the lesser amount.

According to the order, Fishman was using what Vyskocil termed “his third set of lawyers” by the time final legal arguments were made about the forfeiture issue. “The Court then scheduled a hearing, which the Court repeatedly delayed to accommodate the defense,” Vyskocil wrote. The forfeiture hearing eventually took place March 6.

“The purpose of forfeiture is to deprive criminals of the fruits of their illegal acts,” Vyskocil wrote. “Once a criminal defendant is convicted of an offense that is punishable by forfeiture, the district court ‘must determine what property is subject to forfeiture under the applicable statute.'”

Fishman was handed the 11-year sentence in July 2022. At the sentencing hearing, Fishman told Vyskocil, “I really have to apologize for what I did. There’s no excuse for my behavior.”