DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
479 Results - Showing 141 to 150
PRESS RELEASE

Fentanyl Distributer Tied to 13-Year-Old’s Overdose Death Pleads Guilty

DALLAS, TX - A drug distributer who was selling fentanyl-laced counterfeit M30 pills to a Carrollton middle schooler shortly before her fatal overdose pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime, announced Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas Rafael Soliz, Jr., 23, was indicted in March...
PRESS RELEASE

Three Chinese Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Five Employees Charged with Conspiring to Manufacture Fentanyl

Brooklyn, NY - Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, two indictments were unsealed that detail criminal conspiracies by companies and employees based in China to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States. This prosecution is among the first ever in the United States to charge Chinese chemical...
PRESS RELEASE

Indiana Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Meth Charges

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Joseph Golden, 36, of Fort Wayne, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty...
PRESS RELEASE

Seattle Man Admits Buying 630,000 Counterfeit Pills on the Dark Web

ST. LOUIS – A man from Seattle, Wash., on Thursday admitted buying 630,000 counterfeit Xanax and other pills on the dark web. Maximillian Gregory Verbowski, 28, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to sell counterfeit drugs, selling counterfeit drugs and using a fictitious name on mail to commit...
PRESS RELEASE

Illinois Man Sentenced to 180 months in Prison for Drug Distribution

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Todd C. Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris for the Central District of Illinois announced that Vonta Commer, 37, of Springfield, was sentenced on June 13, 2023, to 180 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five...
PRESS RELEASE

Gloucester County Man Admits Healthcare Fraud

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man today admitted defrauding his employer’s health insurance plan out of more than $4 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary compounded medications, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Cheryl Ortiz and Attorney for the...
PRESS RELEASE

Mercer County Man Sentenced to 130 Months in Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking Organization

TRENTON, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced a Mercer County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 130 months in prison for his role as the leader of a Trenton drug-trafficking organization responsible...
PRESS RELEASE

Greenwood Village Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Distribution of Controlled Substances and Financial Crimes

DENVER – Howard Weiss of Greenwood Village was sentenced to six months in federal prison for distributing a controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice, for structuring financial transactions in a way to evade reporting requirements, and for engaging in monetary transactions greater than $10,000 that were derived...
PRESS RELEASE

Nurse Who Stole Painkillers, Replacing Them with Saline and Putting Surgical Patients at Risk, Sentenced to Four Years

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Fuquay-Varina nurse was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with painkillers intended for surgery patients. On March 9, 2022, Melissa Elizabeth Chacona pled guilty to the charges. “Surgical patients trust healthcare providers to give them the...
PRESS RELEASE

St. Cloud Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearms Offenses

ORLANDO, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Robert J. Potocnack (42, St. Cloud) has pleaded guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking...