Feb 17 (Reuters) – A Jacksonville, Florida, man has been charged by a federal indictment after a U.S. attorney said on Tuesday he conspired to influence major international sports competitions through doping, including the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Paul Alexander Askew, 46, conspired to provide performance-enhancing drugs to an athlete in a bid to influence athletics competitions from around July 2023 through January 2024, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said in a press release.

Among the events the alleged conspiracy sought to influence are the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, the 2024 United States Olympic Trials, and the Paris Olympics, according to the indictment.

An indictment is a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

If convicted, Askew faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement it welcomed the indictment under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, which was signed into U.S. law in 2020 and empowers American prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, even for non-Americans if their actions affected American athletes’ results. 

“While athletes face clear sanctions under the World Anti-Doping Code, others have escaped responsibility for undermining the integrity of sport,” USADA said in a statement.

“Without RADA, this indictment of an athlete support person never would have happened, demonstrating how it can be a powerful complement to the Code in ensuring that all those who engage in doping fraud are held accountable.”

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis)

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