Disgraced sports scientist Stephen Dank facing fraud charges in NT
Disgraced sports scientist Stephen Dank has been charged by Northern Territory Police with offences relating to his time working at an anti-ageing business in Darwin.
Mr Dank, 56, is facing fraud offences and charges of recklessly endangering serious harm and causing serious harm, NT police said in a statement.
The charges relate to his former employment the Darwin Ageless Health Clinic NT in 2017.
Dank was the architect of the Essendon Football Club's 2012 supplements regime, which led to 34 players being suspended from competition in 2016 after they were found to have been injected with a banned substance.
He has been summoned to appear at the Darwin Local Court on Wednesday, December 18.
Latest charges could affect AFL lawsuit: report
The NT News revealed the latest legal trouble for Dank could have an impact on potential legal action taken by the group of 34 Essendon Bombers players banned after the supplements scandal in 2012.
AFL player agent Peter Jess, in an interview with the NT News, said the latest charges raised ‘obvious concerns’.
“It raises obvious concerns from my point of view,” Jess said.
“Were there any other supplements/drugs that were given?
“I don’t think there’s any possibility he injected them with thymosin beta-4. It wasn’t in the country.”
Harley Bennell begins training on third AFL lifeline
Harley Bennell has started training with Melbourne as he looks to secure a third shot at AFL football.
On the same day the Demons announced the signing of Mitch Brown as a rookie, after he was delisted by Essendon.
Bennell is striving to win a contract with the Demons during the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) - the system in which Richmond secured Sydney Stack before the 2019 season.
Although he had previously visited the club and met with coaching staff, Bennell began the trial with a weights session on Tuesday.
He continues to recover from surgery on both calves, which troubled him throughout a difficult three-year stint at Fremantle, and is on a modified training program.