Holly Adams, Fentanyl Distribution, California 2023

A 35-year-old woman from Palm Desert has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for her role in a dark web fentanyl distribution ring.

Holly Adams, 35, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez, along with her co-conspirator Devlin Hosner, for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and laundering the resulting proceeds, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Adams and Hosner generated hundreds of thousands of dollars selling counterfeit oxycodone pills pressed with fentanyl on the dark web. The duo laundered the proceeds using cryptocurrency mixers, wallets, and other online tools.

In September 2021, state law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at an address where Adams and Hosner were residing. After officers announced their presence, Hosner attempted to impede their entry while Adams destroyed pills by pouring them into a chemical solution.

Adams and Hosner were arrested and subsequently released by state authorities and resumed selling fentanyl on the dark web a few months later while they were unknowingly under investigation by federal law enforcement agents.

In March 2022, federal law enforcement executed a search warrant at a hotel room in Riverside County where Adams and Hosner were temporarily residing. Officers seized nearly a kilogram of fentanyl-pressed oxycodone pills and 60 grams of methamphetamine from this hotel room.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki prosecuted the case. Hosner faces the same charges as Adams and remains detained pending trial. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2025, before Judge Mendez.

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