[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
BALCO founder settles civil lawsuit: report
CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Victor Conte Jr., founder of BALCO Laboratories and the subject of a grand jury investigation into steroid trafficking, reportedly settled a civil lawsuit filed last year by the U.S. government.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Conte agreed to pay $60,000 US over two years to the government, which accused him of filing $1.8 million US in false Medicare claims.
Court records indicated a settlement was reached "to avoid the delay, uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of a protracted litigation."
Conte was alleged to have submitted multiple claims for the same tests, but did not admit any wrongdoing.
Instead, he consented to pay the government $10,000 US in both September and October, then $2,000 US a month until July 2006.
Conte still faces charges from a high-profile steroid scandal in which the Californian nutritional supplements lab he founded – Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative or BALCO – is accused of concocting a designer steroid known as tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) which, until recently, defied testing.
THG was unknown to doping authorities until the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency received a syringe containing the substance from an anonymous track and field coach who claimed it came from BALCO.
Trevor Graham, coach of Olympic 100-metre champion Justin Gatlin, admitted Aug. 24 that he sent the syringe.
In addition to Medicare fraud, Conte wound up investigated for alleged money laundering and steroid trafficking by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the San Mateo Narcotics Task Force.
A San Francisco grand jury eventually indicted Conte, his vice-president Jim Valente, athletics coach Remi Korchemmy and Greg Anderson, personal trainer to Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants.
Conte was charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute anabolic steroids and human growth hormone.
Track and field athletes charged with doping violations as a result of the BALCO investigation include Tim Montgomery, holder of the world record in the 100-metre sprint, Michelle Collins, Dwain Chambers, Chryste Gaines, Alvin Harrison, Kevin Toth and Kelli White.
