Contessa Williams, Heroin Trafficking and Money Laundering, Virginia 2023

A federal jury has convicted Contessa Williams, 45, of Hampton, Virginia, on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, between January 2014 and May 2017, Contessa Williams conspired with others to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, over 1,000 grams of heroin and launder drug proceeds.

Williams' primary role in the conspiracy was to assist her then-boyfriend, Tracy Hall, 46, of Norfolk, in retrieving, laundering, and spending drug proceeds. Williams deposited drug proceeds in her personal bank accounts and used drug money to start a liquor store in Georgia.

Tracy Hall, the leader of the drug conspiracy, previously pleaded guilty to being the leader in the drug conspiracy and has been attributed with distributing at least 50 kilograms of heroin for a total claimed profit of $1.5 million.

Williams faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison when sentenced on December 9. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric M. Hurt and D. Mack Coleman are prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/jury-convicts-hampton-woman-heroin-and-money-laundering-charges