Nine people, led by Donte L. Gibson, 39, and Audrey J. Gibson, 34, both of Akron, are indicted on federal charges for orchestrating a deadly drug pipeline from China into Akron and Lorain, flooding streets with fentanyl and carfentanil between May 2016 and February 2018. The 17-count indictment unsealed in federal court details a sophisticated operation that relied on U.S. mail, shell companies, and family ties to distribute lethal synthetic opioids and launder hundreds of thousands in illicit cash.
Alongside the Gibsons, the indictment names their daughter, Dontaysha S. Gibson, 21; Derrick A. Adams II, 22; Lisa A. Richardson, 54; Lori E. Martin, 57, of Barberton; Ajarae C. Hisle, 27; Jamar J. Jackson, 28, both of Lorain; and Garrett R. Frantz, 20, of North Canton. All nine are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and at least 9.65 grams of carfentanil—substances so potent they pose extreme risks even in minute quantities.
Donte and Audrey Gibson purchased the drugs online from China and had them shipped via U.S. Postal Service to post office boxes in the Akron-Canton area. Lisa A. Richardson opened multiple P.O. boxes at their direction, while Audrey Gibson retained control of all keys. Packages were retrieved by Richardson, Frantz, and others, then delivered to the Gibsons’ home on Popham Street. There, Donte Gibson diluted 70 to 80 grams of pure fentanyl or carfentanil into roughly seven kilograms of cut product, exponentially increasing distribution capacity and profit.
The drugs were then funneled through Dontaysha Gibson, Adams, and Jackson for street-level sales in Akron and Lorain. The indictment reveals the operation stored narcotics and cash in multiple residences and storage units—until a nightmare moment when the Gibsons’ young daughter overdosed after finding fentanyl at home, a grim testament to the recklessness fueling their enterprise.
Parallel to the drug trade, the Gibsons built a financial façade to launder their proceeds. Beginning around November 2015, Donte Gibson, Audrey Gibson, Dontaysha Gibson, Richardson, and Martin are charged with conspiracy to launder money. Audrey Gibson founded JayT AllServices LLC in 2015, claiming it performed home remodeling and cleaning, later launching Pound Cake Entertainment LLC in 2016—a website, IAmPoundCake.com, selling clothes and offering Snapchat access to her “being flirty or nasty depending on the day.” Dontaysha Gibson formed G’s Car Care and Detail LLC in 2017, managed by Donte, according to the indictment. Bank accounts tied to each company moved drug cash into legitimate-looking streams.
Luxury became a currency of concealment. In 2017, Audrey Gibson opened a Saks Fifth Avenue Store Card and paid $208,504 in cash at the Beachwood location between April and December. Total purchases from Saks reached $686,850 from July 2016 to February 2018, funded by cash, credit, and the store card. The spree included Burberry, Chanel, and Gucci handbags, Louis Vuitton goods, Saint Laurent shoes, and high-end cosmetics and sunglasses—trophies of a criminal empire built on poison from China.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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