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Brian McDonald, 23, of Van Nuys, entered his plea in downtown Los Angeles to 2 counts: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in line with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald set a sentencing listening to for Oct. 21.
McDonald and a co-defendant have been charged in May 2023 in an eight-count prison indictment alleging that from a minimum of April 2021 till May 2023, they conspired to promote fentanyl and cocaine through darkish net marketplaces equivalent to White House Market, ToRReZ and AlphaBay. McDonald, utilizing aliases equivalent to “Malachai Johnson” and “SouthSideOxy,” created vendor profiles on the marketplaces to deal medication in change for cryptocurrency, the indictment states.
McDonald monitored and maintained the seller profiles, together with by updating drug listings and cargo choices, monitoring drug orders obtained on-line, and offloading cryptocurrency obtained as drug funds into cryptocurrency wallets he managed, prosecutors mentioned.
McDonald recruited and employed others to assist with packaging and transport the narcotics bought on hidden web marketplaces. He additionally taught co-conspirators the way to package deal and ship the narcotics, and assisted within the course of, in line with papers filed in Los Angeles federal court docket.
The indictment says that in May 2021, one week after McDonald created a darknet vendor profile for the aim of promoting unlawful medication, he texted an confederate, boasting of gross sales.
Later that month, McDonald messaged a co-conspirator that he had simply bought 20,000 drugs, court docket papers present.
In June 2021, McDonald texted an confederate that he had 34 drug orders to fill. The following month, in texts concerning the conspiracy’s objectives, McDonald said, “i’m actually tryna make like 5 mil,” in line with the indictment.
The proceeds from suspected drug gross sales — after being transformed from cryptocurrency into money — have been saved by McDonald and a co-defendant at their respective residences. The fentanyl and cocaine gross sales raked in a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars}, the indictment states.McDonald was additionally charged with possessing firearms, particularly two gold-plated handguns — one and not using a serial quantity — to guard his drug enterprise and the money made on darknet marketplaces.
A sentencing listening to for co-defendant Ciara Clutario, 23, of Burbank, is about for Jan. 13, though it isn’t clear as to what particular costs she admitted.
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