PORTLAND, Ore . – Paul Eugene Thomas, 38, of Portland, pleaded guilty on April 10, 2019, to one count of conspiring to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, distributing marijuana, maintaining drug involved premises and one count of money laundering for his role in a vast conspiracy to traffic marijuana...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Esteban Guillen Ramirez, 53, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced on April 7, 2019, to one year in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for his role in a complex black market peso exchange money laundering scheme. The scheme was uncovered in 2015 following a lengthy investigation by...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Marcella Moore, 44, of Lewiston, Idaho, was sentenced to federal prison earlier today for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Moore to 54 months in prison followed by three years supervised release. Judge Nye also ordered Moore to pay...

GREEN BAY, Wis. – United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that on April 2, 2019, a federal indictment was issued against Christopher D. Bania, 26, of Hobart, Wis. Bania was charged with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, maintaining a residence...

SEATTLE – Three members of an international drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty on March 25, 2019, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to distributing more than a thousand kilograms of marijuana. The defendants admitted in their plea agreements that they used money from conspirators in the Peoples Republic of China...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Dr. James Stein-Sheridan Shelby, 50, of Spokane, pled guilty on March 20, 2019, to conspiring with Timothy James Felch, 36, also of Spokane, to distribute opioid pain medications, hydrocodone and tramadol, without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. Shelby also pleaded...

MADISON, Wis. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Farooq Shahzad, 50, Madison, Wis., was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 30 months in federal prison and fined $1,000,000 for conspiring to distribute synthetic cannabinoids and possessing...

MILWAUKEE - U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that three defendants were arrested in Buenos Aires, Argentina yesterday. These defendants are wanted in the United States to face charges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin for operating numerous illegal online pharmacies and conspiring to...

CHICAGO — 35 individuals are facing criminal charges as part of a joint federal and state investigation into heroin and fentanyl trafficking in Chicago. During the multi-year investigation, dubbed “Operation Road Rage,” law enforcement seized a kilogram of heroin, most of which contained fentanyl, approximately $100,000 in cash, five firearms...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Jese Carillo Casillas, age 33, based out of Kennewick, Wash., was sentenced on Dec. 13, 2018, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as conspiracy to launder money. Senior United States District Judge Edward F. Shea sentenced Casillas to a 25-year term of...