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Highway Stop Leads to Drug Money Sentence
A routine traffic stop turned into a major drug bust for Illinois man Matthew Steven Crothers, 32, of Palos Heights. On October 25, 2014, Crothers was stopped by a Lancaster County Sheriff’s Deputy on Interstate 80 for having a suspended registration.
During the stop, the deputy smelled the odor of marijuana coming from Crothers’s pickup truck. A search of the vehicle revealed $438,881 in cash hidden inside a spare tire.
A subsequent investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed that the cash was the proceeds of marijuana sales in the Chicago, Illinois, area and was being transported back to marijuana growers in California.
HSI Chicago reported that at the time, high-grade marijuana was selling in the Chicago area for approximately $2,500 per pound. The cash found was therefore equivalent to approximately 175 ½ pounds of marijuana.
Crothers was sentenced to 15 months in prison for Interstate Travel/Transportation in Aid of Racketeering Enterprise. Following the prison term, he will serve three years on supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security Investigations. United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced the sentence.
Crothers’s sentence is a reminder that law enforcement is cracking down on those involved in the transportation of drug money. As the investigation revealed, transporting large amounts of cash can be a sign of illicit activity.
Key Facts
- State: Nebraska
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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