Jacksonville Woman Guilty of Laundering Drug Money Using Cryptocurrency

Sharena Seay, a 39-year-old woman from Jacksonville, Florida, has pleaded guilty to federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, as announced by U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

Seay admitted to money laundering before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love on April 11, 2024.

Court information reveals that Seay laundered the proceeds of her drug trafficking operations through cryptocurrency. She supplied alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), commonly known as “flakka,” and similar synthetic cathinones like Eutylone or alpha-PiHP. Seay distributed these substances to various customers across the United States, who paid for their purchases with cash. She then laundered the cash proceeds through cryptocurrency to buy more controlled substances on the dark web and conceal her illegal activities.

Seay could face up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The court will determine the sentencing based on advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This operation is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which aims to identify, disrupt, and dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. More information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The cases were investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld and D. Ryan Locker prosecuted the cases.

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.