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A San Fernando Valley man who used hidden internet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide was sentenced today to 20 years and eight months in federal prison.
Brian McDonald, 23, of Van Nuys pleaded guilty in downtown Los Angeles in July to two federal counts: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to his plea agreement.
McDonald and a co-defendant were charged in May 2023 in an eight-count criminal indictment alleging that from at least April 2021 until May 2023, they conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via dark web marketplaces such as White House Market, ToRReZ and AlphaBay. McDonald, using aliases such as “Malachai Johnson” and “SouthSideOxy,” created vendor profiles on the marketplaces to deal drugs in exchange for cryptocurrency, the indictment states.
McDonald admitted to having monitored and maintained the vendor profiles, including by updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders received online, and offloading cryptocurrency received as drug payments into cryptocurrency wallets he managed.
He also recruited and hired others to help with packaging and shipping the narcotics sold on hidden internet marketplaces. He also taught co-conspirators how to package and ship the narcotics, and assisted in the process, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
The indictment says that in May 2021, one week after McDonald created a darknet vendor profile for the purpose of selling illegal drugs, he texted an accomplice, boasting of sales.
Later that month, McDonald messaged a co-conspirator that he had just sold 20,000 pills, court papers show.
In June 2021, McDonald texted an accomplice that he had 34 drug orders to fill. The following month, in texts about the conspiracy’s goals, McDonald stated, “i’m really tryna make like 5 mil,” according to the indictment.
The proceeds from suspected drug sales — after being converted from cryptocurrency into cash — were stored by McDonald and a co-defendant at their respective residences. The fentanyl and cocaine sales raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars, the indictment states.
McDonald was also charged with possessing firearms, specifically two gold-plated handguns — one without a serial number — to protect his drug business and the cash made on darknet marketplaces.
A sentencing hearing for co-defendant Ciara Clutario, 23, of Burbank is set for Jan. 13, although it is not clear as to what specific charges she admitted.
A San Fernando Valley man who used hidden internet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide was sentenced today to 20 years and eight months in federal prison.
Brian McDonald, 23, of Van Nuys pleaded guilty in downtown Los Angeles in July to two federal counts: conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to his plea agreement.
McDonald and a co-defendant were charged in May 2023 in an eight-count criminal indictment alleging that from at least April 2021 until May 2023, they conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via dark web marketplaces such as White House Market, ToRReZ and AlphaBay. McDonald, using aliases such as “Malachai Johnson” and “SouthSideOxy,” created vendor profiles on the marketplaces to deal drugs in exchange for cryptocurrency, the indictment states.
McDonald admitted to having monitored and maintained the vendor profiles, including by updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders received online, and offloading cryptocurrency received as drug payments into cryptocurrency wallets he managed.
He also recruited and hired others to help with packaging and shipping the narcotics sold on hidden internet marketplaces. He also taught co-conspirators how to package and ship the narcotics, and assisted in the process, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
The indictment says that in May 2021, one week after McDonald created a darknet vendor profile for the purpose of selling illegal drugs, he texted an accomplice, boasting of sales.
Later that month, McDonald messaged a co-conspirator that he had just sold 20,000 pills, court papers show.
In June 2021, McDonald texted an accomplice that he had 34 drug orders to fill. The following month, in texts about the conspiracy’s goals, McDonald stated, “i’m really tryna make like 5 mil,” according to the indictment.
The proceeds from suspected drug sales — after being converted from cryptocurrency into cash — were stored by McDonald and a co-defendant at their respective residences. The fentanyl and cocaine sales raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars, the indictment states.
McDonald was also charged with possessing firearms, specifically two gold-plated handguns — one without a serial number — to protect his drug business and the cash made on darknet marketplaces.
A sentencing hearing for co-defendant Ciara Clutario, 23, of Burbank is set for Jan. 13, although it is not clear as to what specific charges she admitted.
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
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