Foreign national sentenced for racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas

Jan 15, 2025 · 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.

A Romanian national convicted of plotting to traffic hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from the United States in a scheme that also included money laundering, arms trafficking, and an attempt to assassinate rival gang members, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

District

Eastern Texas

Announced

Jan 15, 2025

Status

Sentenced

Defendants

Marius Lazar — age 51 · Bucharest, Romania · sentenced
Murray Michael Matthews · fugitive
Marc Patrick Johnson · fugitive

Charges

Conspiracy to commit racketeering
Marius Lazar· convicted; sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in prison
Conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States
Marius Lazar· convicted; sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in prison
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Marius Lazar· convicted; sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in prison

Financial actions

seizure: nearly $1 million — Money sent to the United States via bank wires and Bitcoin transfers as payment for drugs and murders

From the announcement

“founding member”

Investigating agencies

Drug Enforcement AdministrationHomeland Security InvestigationsU.S. Marshals ServiceInternal Revenue Service – Criminal InvestigationsBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesU.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of TexasU.S. Attorney's Office District of ColumbiaCriminal Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering SectionJustice Department's Office of International AffairsOrganized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces

Case details

Prosecuting office: Eastern District of Texas
Judge: Marcia A. Crone, U.S. District Judge
Assets: Bitcoin

Arms TraffickingCryptocurrencyDrug Trafficking ConspiracyInternational Cooperation And ExtraditionMoney LaunderingMulti-Agency Law Enforcement CollaborationMurder-For-Hire / Assassination PlotRacketeeringTransnational Organized Crime

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.