Woman Who Managed On-Demand Drug Delivery Service that Catered to Students and Young Professionals Sentenced to Over Four Years in Federal Prison
SAN FRANCISCO – Natalie Marie Gonzalez, the leader of a drug trafficking service that supplied controlled substances throughout the Bay Area to students and young professionals, was sentenced today to 50 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson handed down the sentence.
Gonzalez, 31, of Oakland, was indicted along with three co-defendants in October 2023. On Sept. 13, 2024, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C).
According to the plea agreement, from April 2023 through September 2023, Gonzalez managed an on-demand drug trafficking delivery service known as “The Shop” that supplied a broad range of controlled substances to customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The Shop had a menu of drugs available for sale and required “a $300 minimum for postal shipments and Bay Area delivery.” Gonzalez paid delivery drivers, including her co-defendants, to deliver controlled substances to customers who placed orders through the encrypted messaging app Signal. During the investigation, Gonzalez messaged an undercover agent that her customer base was “a lot of students and young professionals.”
Gonzalez made multiple sales to the undercover agent of methamphetamine pills that were delivered by The Shop’s drivers. In connection with a sale in July 2023, Gonzalez messaged the undercover agent on where to meet the delivery driver, “Please meet him at the car (white Subaru Forester) with exact change and either: – Hop in for a short ‘Uber’ ride around the block – Get your order through the window like Door Dash – Or play with the pup outside the car to cover up a casual swap :).”
In addition to accepting cash payments for methamphetamine pills, Gonzalez also advertised that The Shop accepted cryptocurrency on the group’s drug menu. Gonzalez gave the undercover agent multiple Bitcoin addresses that the agent could use to pay for drugs.
On Sept. 13, 2023, while executing a search warrant at the group’s stash house in Menlo Park, agents seized, among other illegal drugs, almost a kilogram of fentanyl, roughly seven kilograms of cocaine, orange fake Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, and ketamine.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson ordered Gonzalez to serve three years of supervised release.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris made the announcement.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Pastor is prosecuting the case with assistance from Andy Ding. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA and IRS Criminal Investigation.
