John Cruz, Counterfeit Xanax Sales, Missouri 2024

Counterfeit Xanax Sales on Dark Web Land Rochester Man 54 Months in Prison

ST. LOUIS – A New York man has been sentenced to 54 months in prison for selling counterfeit Xanax on the dark web, despite being indicted and pleading guilty to the crime on not one, but two occasions.

John Cruz, 31, of Rochester, N.Y., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on November 29, 2023, and again on July 1, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to misbrand, introduce misbranded drugs and sell counterfeit drugs.

Cruz admitted to purchasing counterfeit Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, on the darknet and reselling it from at least October 2019 through May 2021. He also admitted to operating a darknet website where he offered four different types of counterfeit/misbranded pills while out on bond after his 2023 guilty plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ware described Cruz’s actions as ‘arrogance,’ a ‘lack of remorse,’ and ‘deliberate anti-social behavior.’

Investigators seized $145,502 from an account Cruz held in the cryptocurrency Monero, representing the proceeds of his illegal pill sales. Cruz has agreed to forfeit the Monero.

DEA St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis warned that anyone purchasing medication online should be considered suspicious, and that those selling these drugs often know they are counterfeit and may be laced with fentanyl.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Ware and Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.

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