David Lee White, Conspiracy to Sell Narcotics on the Dark Web, California 2022

An Arizona man has been sentenced to over 11 years in prison for his role in a dark web narcotics conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

David Lee White, 52, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on today.

According to court documents, White and co-defendants Jason Keith Arnold and Alicia McCoy operated vendor accounts on the dark web marketplace known as Dream, distributing heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and other federally controlled substances.

Law enforcement agents working undercover purchased heroin and other controlled substances from these vendor accounts on various dates in 2018 and had them sent to an address in the Eastern District of California. Agents subsequently executed a search warrant at a motel room in which White and McCoy were staying and seized at least 315 grams of heroin, 45 grams of cocaine, 593 grams of methamphetamine, and 30 grams of marijuana. A loaded and unregistered Kel-tec 9 mm handgun was also seized from a nightstand in the motel room.

Arnold pleaded guilty on March 5, 2020, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, 2022. Charges are pending against McCoy, and a status conference is scheduled for April 4, 2022.

The case was the product of an investigation by the Northern California Illicit Digital Economy (NCIDE) Task Force, which includes agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant United States Attorneys Paul Hemesath and Sam Stefanki prosecuted the case.

White’s exact criminal charges are not specified in the press release, but it is clear that he was convicted of conspiracy to sell narcotics on the dark web.

The Northern California Illicit Digital Economy (NCIDE) Task Force is a federal task force focused on targeting all forms of illicit dark web and cryptocurrency activity in the Eastern District of California and beyond.

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