Iowa Man Caught in Fentanyl Conspiracy
Kenneth Hurd, a 32-year-old from Harrisburg, South Dakota, has pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Acquire Controlled Substances by Fraud in a federal court in Iowa.
The plea hearing took place on September 5, 2023, where Hurd admitted to conspiring with co-defendant Douglas Kelley to obtain fentanyl by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge. Hurd and Kelley used Kelley’s position as a nurse at MercyOne Hospital in Sioux City to acquire fentanyl and other controlled substances for personal use.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig Hamit and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Inspections & Appeals, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Sioux City Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
At the plea hearing, Hurd admitted to knowingly conspiring with Kelley to obtain and acquire fentanyl by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge. They used Kelley’s position as a nurse at MercyOne Hospital in Sioux City to obtain fentanyl and other controlled substances for personal use.
Hurd remains free on bond pending sentencing, which will be set after a presentence report is prepared. He faces up to 4 years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a $250,000 fine, and up to 1 year of supervised release following any imprisonment.
For more information on the case, visit the court file at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 23-CR-4022.
You can follow the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Twitter at @USAO_NDIA.
Related Federal Cases
- Ann Sulsberger, Methamphetamine Conspiracy, Iowa 2024 · South Dakota
- Nathan Tobacco-Clifford, Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, South Dakota 2024 · Kansas
- Irene Johnson, Methamphetamine Conspiracy, Iowa 2023 · Kansas
- Emily Strickland, Controlled Substance Distribution, Iowa 2024 · South Dakota
- Michael Brian Whirlwind Soldier, Obtaining Controlled Substances by Deception, South Dakota 2021 · New York
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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