Darknet Fentanyl Dealer Indicted in Nationwide Undercover Operation Targeting Darknet Vendors Who were Selling to Thousands of U.S. Residents

May 30, 2019 · Sourced to the U.S. Department of Justice

This case reached the sentenced stage in the Department of Justice's public record. Everything below reflects only what the government itself announced, and links to the original release.

Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced the indictment of a darknet drug dealer who has been indicted for leveraging Bitcoin’s apparent anonymity to sell fentanyl online. The charges against him are the result of the first nationwide undercover operation targeting darknet vendors that the Justice Department announced in June 2018.

District

Northern Texas

Announced

May 30, 2019

Forfeiture

$13.3M

Status

Sentenced

Defendants

Sean Shaughnessy — age 51 · Dallas Fort Worth, Texas · indicted
Brian Gutierrez-Villasenor — age 27 · San Francisco, California · sentenced
John Edward Monette — age 50 · Sioux Falls, South Dakota · sentenced
Ryan Farace — age 34 · Reisterstown, Maryland · sentenced
Robert Swain — age 34 · Freeland, Maryland · pleaded guilty
Tyler Lee Ward — age 35 · Moody, Alabama · sentenced
Henry Long Nguyen — age 33 · Birmingham, Alabama · sentenced
Joseph William Davis — age 26 · Madison, Alabama · sentenced
Sam Bent — age 32 · St. Johnsbury, Vermont · pleaded guilty
Djeneba Bent — age 26 · St. Johnsbury, Vermont · pleaded guilty
Kyle Lindemann — age 31 · Birmingham, Michigan · pleaded guilty

Charges

Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances
Sean Shaughnessy· indicted
Distribution of a controlled substance
Sean Shaughnessy· indicted
Distribution of a controlled substance analogue
Sean Shaughnessy· indicted
Money laundering (eight counts)
Sean Shaughnessy· indicted
Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
Brian Gutierrez-Villasenor· sentenced
Transporting funds to promote unlawful activity
Brian Gutierrez-Villasenor· sentenced
Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance
John Edward Monette· convicted
Drug distribution and money laundering conspiracies
Ryan Farace· sentenced
Money laundering conspiracy
Max: 20 years in prisonRobert Swain· pleaded guilty
Conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute Alprazolam; maintaining a drug-involved premises; and conspiracy to commit money laundering
Tyler Lee Ward· pleaded guilty
Conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute Alprazolam; maintaining a drug-involved premises; and conspiracy to commit money laundering
Henry Long Nguyen· pleaded guilty
Conspiracy to distribute Alprazolam
Joseph William Davis· pleaded guilty
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances
Sam Bent· pleaded guilty
Money laundering (three counts)
Sam Bent· pleaded guilty
Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances
Djeneba Bent· pleaded guilty
Possession with intent to distribute MDMA
Kyle Lindemann· pleaded guilty

Financial actions

seizure: $120,000 — Bitcoin sent to wallet addresses controlled by federal agents
fine: $40,000 — Fine ordered as part of sentence
seizure: $32,464.38 — 3.3882104 bitcoin seized from a Mycelium wallet on Monette's cell phone
forfeiture: $5,665,000 — Money judgment ordered to forfeit
forfeiture: $3.2 million — 4,000 bitcoin ordered to forfeit
forfeiture: $1.5 million — Cash seized during execution of search warrants
forfeiture — 1,100 bitcoin seized during execution of search warrants
forfeiture: $2.5 million — Computer equipment seized during execution of search warrants
forfeiture: $200,000 — Cryptocurrency and numerous assets ordered to forfeit
forfeiture: $200,000 — Cryptocurrency and numerous assets ordered to forfeit
forfeiture — Forfeiture money judgment agreed to as part of plea agreement
forfeiture — 4.430550289998 Monero and 39.17488 MilliBitcoin seized during Operation Dark Gold

Investigating agencies

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of TexasU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security InvestigationsMoney Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Department of Justice Criminal DivisionU.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of CaliforniaU.S. Attorney's Office for the District of MarylandU.S. Attorney's Office for the District of VermontU.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan

Case details

Prosecuting office: Northern District of Texas
Assets: Bitcoin, Monero, MilliBitcoin

Asset ForfeitureCryptocurrencyDarknet Drug TraffickingFentanyl And Opioid CrisisInteragency And Multi-District CoordinationInternational Drug Supply ChainsMoney LaunderingUndercover Operation (Operation Dark Gold)Use Of Mail System For Drug Distribution

Primary source

Every fact above is drawn from the Department of Justice's own announcement — a public-domain government record.

Read the original DOJ release →

This is a research and reference page compiled from public DOJ announcements, not legal advice. Details reflect the government's statements as of its release date and may not capture later developments such as appeals, dismissals, or overturned convictions. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.