BECKLEY, W.Va. – In a stark reminder of the dangers of financial crime, Merrick Rice, 43, of Mullens, and Miranda Aliff, 32, of Rock Creek, each pleaded guilty today to structuring transactions with one or more domestic financial institutions in a brazen attempt to evade financial reporting requirements.
According to court documents, Rice and Aliff, both then in a romantic relationship, became embroiled in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana and other controlled substances in and around Mullens beginning in or around mid-2019. Their scheme involved obtaining wholesale quantities of marijuana from Jack Paskin, 33, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who caused the marijuana to be shipped to them from various sources in California, Oregon, and elsewhere.
Rice and Aliff created She Paints Quite a Lot LLC, a single-member limited liability corporation, with the West Virginia Secretary of State on March 2, 2020. Aliff was listed as the LLC’s sole member. On March 3, 2020, Paskin, Rice, and Aliff traveled to the Beckley branch of a domestic financial institution where they opened a business bank account in the name of the LLC. Paskin and Aliff were listed as signers on the bank account.
Rice and Aliff admitted that the LLC had no legitimate business purpose and was created solely to transfer the proceeds of the marijuana distribution conspiracy from them to Paskin. Beginning on March 17, 2020, and continuing through August 13, 2020, Rice, Aliff, and others connected to this conspiracy made cash deposits of less than $10,000 in the LLC’s bank account at the Beckley branch. The deposits were made in 27 transactions and totaled a staggering $228,000. Rice and Aliff admitted that these transactions were specifically designed to avoid currency reporting requirements.
Rice also admitted to assisting other individuals in depositing a total of $54,000 in increments of $9,000 in the LLC’s bank account on six separate occasions between June 1, and June 23, 2020. Aliff further admitted that she and Rice purchased 111 U.S. Postal Service money orders totaling $109,000 as part of a method to pay Paskin. Rice drove Aliff to different post offices in or near Raleigh County and directed Aliff to purchase a $1,000 money order at each post office.
Rice and Aliff are scheduled to be sentenced on August 30, 2024, and each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Paskin, who was indicted on February 21, 2024, for conspiracy to commit money laundering, awaits trial. This case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of financial crime and the importance of financial reporting requirements.
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Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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