Fresno’s Kelo White, 44, was meted out a seven-year and six-month sentence today for his role in an illegal opioid trafficking scheme that spanned over four years. The acting U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez announced the stiff penalty.
According to court documents, White, along with Donald Ray Pierre, 56, of Fresno, conspired with pharmacist Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, to obtain and distribute more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills. White’s cut was over a quarter of that total.
The trio operated under the guise of legitimate prescriptions, which were in fact forgeries. More than 10 different doctors’ signatures were forged to support these fraudulent scripts. Ntukogu, the pharmacist, reviewed each prescription to avoid suspicion from regulators, rejecting those he deemed too risky.
White and Pierre paid Ntukogu in cash for the pills, which they then sold at a profit. Ntukogu was sentenced on Nov. 25, 2024, to seven years and three months, while Pierre was handed a nine-year sentence in July 2020.
The investigation into this crime ring was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the California Department of Health Care Services. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Antonio Pataca and Joseph Barton prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the DOJ’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative, which identifies and dismantles high-level criminal organizations. It also falls under Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge, aimed at curbing the flow of synthetic opioids in high-impact areas and identifying distribution networks.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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