United States Drug Enforcement Administration

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...

DETROIT – A former Oakland County reserve deputy sheriff will spend 49 months in prison for the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today. Joining Schneider in the announcement was DEA Detroit Division Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon and FBI Detroit Division Special Agent...

DAYTON, Ohio – Craig H. Gilbreath, Jr., 20, of Springfield, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for possessing carfentanil. DEA Detroit Division Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Benjamin C. Glassman, Springfield Police Chief Lee...

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...

CLEVELAND – On Monday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 19, 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federation of State Medical Boards hosted two regional one-day Practitioner Diversion Awareness Conferences. Drug overdoses are still a public health crisis in the United States and the misuse of prescription opioids continue to...

CLEVELAND - Twenty-two people were indicted in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, heroin, fentanyl analogues including carfentanil, and other drugs, which they sold in Euclid and Cleveland to customers from across Northeast Ohio. Named in the 42-count indictment are: Joseph P. Gray, Jr., 30...

DETROIT – The Drug Enforcement Administration urges its DEA-registered practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls from criminals posing as DEA or other law enforcement personnel threatening arrest and prosecution for supposed violations of federal drug laws or involvement in drug-trafficking activities. DEA continues to...