On February 17, 2010 in United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Papp appeared before the Hon. Gary L. Lancaster, Chief U.S. District Judge, and pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to distribute performance-enhancing drugs, specifically HGH and Erythropoietin (EPO). According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton, the retail value of the transactions brokered by Papp between Shandong Kexing Bioproducts Corp. and over 180 international clients approached US$80,000 from September 2006 to September 2007 None of the 187 customers, including cyclists, swimmers, runners, triathletes, mixed-martial artists and rowers, were identified in court. Houghton, Papp, and his attorney, William Ward, declined to comment on terms of the plea agreement, which had been sealed by the court – a measure often taken if a defendant is cooperating with the government in ongoing investigations, but neither Ward nor Houghton would say at the time if that was the case. In October 2011, Papp was finally sentenced to serve a six-month period of house arrest, followed by two and half years probation.