James France, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2025

Methamphetamine Trafficking Ring Busted in Pittsburgh

A former corporate lawyer from Scott Township, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking operation in the Pittsburgh area. James France, 62, was convicted of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in March 2022.

The investigation into France’s activities began in 2015, when he was arrested in Illinois after a search of his car revealed approximately 1,344 grams of methamphetamine, along with scales, packaging material, syringes, and more than $4,700 in U.S. currency. In May 2016, an arrest of one of France’s conspirators by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Rochester, New York, led to the identification of France as a major methamphetamine supplier from the Pittsburgh area.

In June 2016, the DEA conducted a controlled purchase of $2,000 worth of methamphetamine from France at his Scott Township residence. A laboratory analysis of the drugs following the controlled purchase found it to be 55 grams of methamphetamine.

Just over a month later, on July 29, 2016, Scott Township Police responded to a report of a home invasion at France’s residence. When officers arrived, they encountered an individual who appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance and reported that six armed men attempted to break into the residence. During a subsequent search of the residence, officers recovered approximately 430 grams of pure methamphetamine, approximately $8,000 in U.S. currency, and other evidence of methamphetamine distribution.

France was on bond for other offenses when local police officers arrested him on June 30, 2017, after executing another search warrant at his residence. That search resulted in the seizure of a methamphetamine smoking apparatus, syringes, scales, packaging material, large sums of U.S. currency, and quantities of methamphetamine.

At his sentencing hearing on April 15, 2025, Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed a sentence of 151 months of imprisonment, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, on France’s conviction of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. France had attempted to obstruct justice throughout the judicial proceedings, lying to the Court, violating the conditions of his bond, threatening to beat a person’s grandparents, and verbally abusing his court-appointed counsel.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Scott Township Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of France.

The case against France serves as a reminder of the dangers of methamphetamine trafficking and the importance of cooperation between law enforcement agencies in combating this serious crime.

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