NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A Chandler man pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of distributing anabolic steroids.

Matthew Peltz, 36, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Peltz was charged in Connecticut along with two other Arizona men and one Pennsylvania man after a federal investigation headed by the FBI's Healthcare Fraud Unit in Connecticut.

According to court statements and documents, Peltz and the others purchased raw steroid powder from China, manufactured anabolic steroids in home laboratories and distributed them to customers around the country through a MySpace.com profile and a Web site they created called anabolic-superstore.com.

The charges came as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Monday that more than 120 people were arrested in an 18-month international investigation of illicit steroid labs.

The Connecticut FBI investigation, dubbed Operation Phony Pharm, began last year independently of the international probe, but investigators worked with each other.

Those investigations showed how worldwide manufacturers of the raw materials needed for steroids use Web sites to market their products, authorities said. Steroid Internet message boards and chat rooms also use the latest technology to try to keep their transactions anonymous.

For Operation Phony Pharm, undercover FBI agents portrayed themselves as online purchasers of steroids, U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said.

Peltz's sentencing date is set for Dec. 17.

Along with Peltz, Edwin F. Porter, 41, of Chandler; Tyler J. Lunn, 27, of Phoenix; and Walter T. Corey, 37, of Charleroi, Pa.; were charged with conspiring to distribute and distribution of anabolic steroids.

Bruce Koffsky, Porter's attorney, said his client intended to plead not guilty.

As part of the same ongoing probe, Alan R. Blair, 52, of Wilton, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court Monday to one count of distributing human growth hormone without a prescription. Last Friday, Brian S. Tompkins, 29, of Deltona, Fla., also pleaded guilty in Hartford to distributing anabolic steroids.

Blair admitted that from November 2004 to April 2007, he distributed HGH to customers throughout world using the Web site www.jintropin.com, authorities said. The HGH was shipped directly to Blair's customers from a supplier in China.

As part of his guilty plea, Blair has agreed to forfeit to the government about $260,000 in illegal proceeds.

Lunn and Corey face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000. Porter, who was also charged with lying to the FBI, faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Tompkins and Blair face up to five years in prison when they are sentenced in December.