BOSTON – A brazen fentanyl trafficking scheme has been brought to justice with the guilty plea of Bladimir Sanchez Soto, 29, a Dominican national with ties to Methuen, Massachusetts.
Sanchez Soto was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of false representation of a Social Security number.
According to court proceedings, Sanchez Soto was involved in arranging four fentanyl sales totaling approximately 65 grams in November 2019 and January 2020. The scheme came to an end in February 2020, when Sanchez Soto and a co-defendant were arrested and additional fentanyl was seized.
This is not the first time Sanchez Soto has used a false identity. In November 2016, he was indicted in the Western District of Michigan for using a false name and Social Security number to obtain a Michigan driver’s license.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl carries a minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $5 million fine.
The charge of false representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for July 27, 2021. Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore B. Heinrich of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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