Victor Conte, the BALCO founder and a central figure in a scheme to provide undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, died Monday. He was 75.

Conte’s death was announced on social media by SNAC Systemwere also, a sports nutrition company he founded. No cause of death was given, but in June, Conte announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The federal government’s investigation into another company Conte founded, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), led to the convictions of Olympic track champion Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Tammy Thomas, and former NFL defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield. Several coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer were also convicted.

Barry Bonds, MLB’s home run king, was also connected to BALCO through his trainer, Greg Anderson.

However, Anderson refused to testify in a case against Bonds, who has maintained that he never knowingly took banned PEDs. Anderson pleaded guilty to steroid distribution charges stemming from his BALCO connections and was sentenced to three months in prison and three months of home confinement.

Slugger Jason Giambi was also connected to BALCO in early 2004. The American League MVP in 2000 made a non-specific apology in 2005 before admitting to steroid use in 2007.

Boxer Shane Mosley was also a BALCO client.

Conte founded BALCO in 1984 after a career as a musician, which included time as the bassist for the R&B group Tower of Power.

The company offered supplements, along with blood and urine analysis, to professional athletes.

A 2003 federal investigation found that BALCO had distributed banned performance-enhancing drugs to major athletes in several sports. Two years later, Conte pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering.

He served four months in prison.

The BALCO investigation led to the 2006 book “Game of Shadows“ by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams.

A week after the book’s publication, baseball commissioner Bud Selig hired former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to investigate steroids in the sport.

According to the report, Conte said he sold steroids known as “the cream” and “the clear” and advised on their use to dozens of elite athletes.

Retired sprinter Tim Montgomery, who set a world record in the 100 meters in 2002 but was later convicted of using PEDs, said he “can’t really be mad” at Conte.

“He didn’t trick me. He convinced me, and then I convinced myself (to use banned substances),” Montgomery said. “Most of the people’s lives that he was part of, they was willing participants, if you know what I’m saying.’’

After his release, Conte worked to clean up sports, alerting authorities to loopholes in testing protocols. He sold supplements through his company, Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC).

Montgomery said he believed that Conte remained active in helping athletes circumvent drug testing, but had no evidence to back up his suspicions.

“This guy wanted the limelight,’’ Montgomery said. “He wanted to go on podcasts. He wanted to talk about drugs. He wanted to still be with athletes.’’

Conte also worked with world champion boxers including Terence Crawford, Claressa Shields and Devin Haney.

Bill Haney, Devin Haney’s father and manager, said Conte helped develop his son into a lightweight champion without the use of banned drugs.

“We lost a very important figure who turned his life around, and he (has) been a vanguard for guys like Devin and me fighting on the right side of the sport,’’ Bill Haney said. “That’s all we’ve ever got a chance to experience with him.

“And we’ll continue that crusade that he started in terms of cleaning up boxing and bringing in awareness to PEDs and drug use.’’

Adam Abramowitz, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, addressed the divisiveness surrounding Conte.

“I’m not sure where Victor Conte falls on the hero/villain axis as it relates to boxing,” he wrote on X. ”But he was a very intelligent man with a lot of talent.’’

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