United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Bryron Shontell McFadden, 41 and Roberta Ruth Sielak, 30, of Utqiagvik, Alaska, were indicted on drug trafficking charges, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and attempt to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute. The criminal complaint alleges that on or about January 12, 2021, U.S. Postal Inspectors...

SPOKANE, Wash., - Joshua Isaac Stine, age 34, a resident of Ephrata, Washington, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen to a 240 month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 10 year term of court supervision after he is released from federal...

SEATTLE - A 22-year-old Mount Vernon, Washington, woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Rosaliana Lopez-Rodriguez sold counterfeit oxycodone pills tainted with fentanyl in Skagit and Whatcom Counties. The pills are connected to at least two overdoses, including the overdose death of...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Michael Don Robertson, 68, a former Anchorage psychiatrist, was sentenced on January 6, 2021, by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason to 12 months home confinement and five years of probation for conspiracy to commit controlled substance fraud and one count of health care fraud. Robertson...

SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Justice and Bartell Drug Inc., today resolved allegations that, between July 2016 and August 2020, the pharmacy chain filled invalid prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Under the terms of the settlement, Bartell Drug will pay the government an $800,000 fine. Bartell...

SEATTLE – Eleven people have been indicted by a grand jury sitting in the Western District of Washington for a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy. One of those indicted is a rap artist from Snohomish County, Washington, who discussed his drug trafficking activity in a documentary video. All of those in...

SAN DIEGO –Escondido pain clinic doctor Bradley Chesler, M.D., has paid the United States $153,000 to resolve allegations that he overprescribed opioids. Dr. Chesler is a board-certified physiatrist who operates a pain clinic in Escondido, California. This settlement stems from the United States’ investigation into whether Dr. Chesler illegally prescribed...

SEATTLE - Eight people who were charged in a wide-ranging drug investigation that resulted in the seizure of significant quantities of suspected fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine were arrested earlier today. All those arrested appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle today. “The rising numbers of fentanyl overdoses is on the...

SAN DIEGO – Three Mexican nationals suspected of trafficking huge quantities of illicit drugs for the Sinaloa Cartel were charged in federal court today in connection with what is believed to be the largest single seizure of cash, narcotics and ammunition in this district. Jesus Burgos Arias, Juan Alatorre Venegas...

SEATTLE - A federal felon, arrested for violating his supervised release, faces new prison time following his guilty plea to drug and gun possession charges. Joshua Lobben, 32, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm...