6 members of an international drug trafficking organization indicted in Utah for their roles in manufacturing fake prescriptions drugs with fentanyl

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment Wednesday charging six individuals with allegedly operating an international drug trafficking organization by manufacturing fake prescription drugs made from fentanyl. Hundreds of thousands of the fake pills were then distributed throughout Utah and the United States to customers who had ordered pills from their dark net online store.

The following agency heads announced this indictment: U.S. Attorney John W. Huber, District of Utah; District Agent in Charge Brian S. Besser, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Special Agent in Charge John Eisert, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Tara Sullivan, Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Spencer E. Morrison, Food and Drug administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations; and Jared Bingham, U.S. Postal Inspector and Team Leader for the Salt Lake City Postal Inspection Service.

The following six individuals are charged in this superseding indictment: Aaron Michael Shamo, 27, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah; Drew Wilson Crandall, 30, of Brisbane, Australia; Alexandrya Marie Tonge, 25, and Katherine Lauren Ann Bustin, 26, both of South Jordan, Utah; and Mario Anthony Noble, 28, and Sean Michael Gygi, 27, both of Midvale, Utah.

According to documents filed in federal court, the organization began with Aaron Michael Shamo and Drew Wilson Crandall, but grew to include other co-conspirators. Shamo and Crandall, according to court records, purchased pill presses, dies and stamps to mark pills so the markings would match those of legitimate pharmaceutical drugs, and inert pill ingredients, such as binding agents and colors. Some items were purchased legally and others, such as fentanyl and Alprazolam, were illegally imported into the United States from China. To avoid detection, Shamo and Crandall had many of their supplies shipped to nominees or straw purchasers.

The smuggled ingredients were then pressed into pills that appeared to be legitimate pharmaceuticals. The fake Oxycodone-type pills and the counterfeit Alprazolam tablets were sold on the dark net at a significant profit. Once sold, Shamo and Crandall used their co-conspirators to package the pills and ship them to customers. According to documents filed in court, the enterprise sold hundreds of thousands of pills in Utah and throughout the United States.

The indictment alleges that Shamo, working in concert with at least five other people, occupied a position of principal administrator, organizer, supervisor and leader of a continuing criminal enterprise, which involved possession with intent to distribute and distribution of more than 12,000 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, a controlled substance. The indictment further alleges that Shamo obtained substantial income and resources through the continuing series of violations. Count 1 of the indictment charges Shamo with knowingly and intentionally engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.

Counts 2 through 9 and count 12 of the indictment charge various defendants in the case with alleged violations of federal law committed as predicate acts in support of the continuing criminal enterprise. The counts include the following crimes:

• conspiracy to distribute fentanyl,
• conspiracy to distribute Alprazolam,
• aiding and abetting the importation of a controlled substance,
• possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, manufacture of Alprazolam, and
• using the U.S. mail in a drug trafficking offense.

Counts 10 and 11 of the indictment charge Shamo with knowing and intentional adulteration of drugs held for sale. The counts allege Shamo manufactured round blue tablets and offered those tablets for sale on the internet as “Oxycodone 30 mg.” Count 10 alleges the tablets were debossed with “A 215” on the bisected side. Count 11 alleges the tablets were manufactured with an “M” on one side and a “30” above the bisect on the other side. Such markings mimick the markings of legitimate Oxycodone tablets. Despite those representations, the indictment alleges the defendants did not use Oxycodone at all in the manufacturing process, but instead, substituted fentanyl, a much more potent synthetic opioid. The indictment alleges this adulteration had a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans.

The final three counts of the indictment allege conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering concealment and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activities. The indictment also includes a notice seeking criminal forfeiture of currency, automobiles, a pill press, and a variety of pill dies and punches used as a part of the alleged criminal enterprise.

Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in an indictment are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Because of the volume of drugs involved in this case, Shamo faces mandatory life in prison if convicted of Count 1. Following are other potential penalties upon conviction:

• The potential maximum penalty for Count 2 in the indictment, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, is life in prison with a mandatory minimum 10 years and a $10 million fine.
• The potential penalty for Count 3, conspiracy to distribute Alprazolam, is five years and a fine of $250,000.
• Count 4 and Count 6, aiding and abetting the importation of a controlled substance (fentanyl) have potential penalties of 40 years with a mandatory minimum five years and a $5 million fine.
• The potential penalty for Count 5, aiding and abetting the importation of a controlled substance (Alprazolam) is five years and a fine of $250,000.
• Counts 7 and 8, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, have potential penalties of life in prison with a mandatory minimum 10 years and a $10 million fine.
• Count 9, manufacture of Alprazolam, has a potential penalty of five years and a fine of $250,000.
• The potential maximum penalty for Count 10 and 11, knowing and intentional adulteration of drugs while held for sale, is up to 20 years and a fine of $1 million.
• Count 12, use of the U.S. mail in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, has a potential penalty of four years and a $250,000 fine.
• Money laundering Counts 13 and 14 have 20-year potential maximum penalties and fines of $250,000.
• The final count of the indictment, engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, has a potential penalty of 10 years and a fine of $250,000.

Shamo was arrested on a federal complaint filed in November 2016 and remains in custody. Crandall was arrested in Hawaii on a federal complaint earlier this month. A summons will be issued to Tonge, Bustin, Noble and Gygi for their initial appearances in federal court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vernon Stejskal and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gadd, District of Utah, are prosecuting this case. Special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, and U.S. Postal Inspectors are investigating this case.