Feds bust steroid ring that hawked drug on bodybuilding website, was paid in Bitcoin
Posted Feb 19, 2020 at 8:59 PM
Three of the defendants are residents of North Attleboro, and one is from Providence.
PROVIDENCE ? Federal authorities on Wednesday charged four people with operating an illegal steroid trafficking ring out of North Attleboro that advertised on a bodybuilding website and offering 20% discounts to customers paying with the difficult-to-trace Bitcoin electronic currency.
The four ? three residents of North Attleboro and one from Providence ? made initial appearances in U.S. District Court on Wednesday afternoon and were release on unsecured bonds, by Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond.
According to the U.S. Attorney?s Office, the leader of the ring was David Esser, 46, of 9 Fisher St., Apt. 3, North Attleboro.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan, who presented the case in court, the following were also involved, mainly packaging steroids for shipping and taking them to the post office:
Esser?s ex-wife, Alison Shephard, 41, with a last known address of 41 Eddy St., North Attleboro;
Shephard?s fianc?, James McLaughlin, 34, also with a last known address of 41 Eddy St.;
and Mason Nieves, 27, with a last known address of 164 Parade St., Apt. 1, Providence.
Sullivan said Nieves also played a role in the financial operations of the ring, with money passing through his bank account before going into Esser?s.
The members of the ring face charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; conspiracy to distribute, possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to import controlled substances; manufacturing and distributing controlled substances; importation of controlled substances into the United States; trafficking in counterfeit goods and services; smuggling goods into the United States; wire fraud; and money laundering.
Shephard, McLaughlin and Nieves were released on $10,000 unsecured bond, meaning they will forfeit that amount if they fail to appear in court for proceedings.
Esser was released on $50,000 unsecured bond and will have to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.
Sullivan told Judge Almond that the government was not sure what conditions should be set for Esser?s release because investigators suspect he was not forthcoming when filling out court paperwork describing his finances.
?We know that he has money being transferred to him in Bitcoin,? Sullivan told the judge. ?We know he has a Bitcoin account that he didn?t disclose.?
Almond said that he will review the terms of release when Esser returns to court March 4 to review whether he qualifies for a court-appointed lawyer.
Source: https://www.providencejournal.com/n...g-on-bodybuilding-website-was-paid-in-bitcoin
Posted Feb 19, 2020 at 8:59 PM
Three of the defendants are residents of North Attleboro, and one is from Providence.
PROVIDENCE ? Federal authorities on Wednesday charged four people with operating an illegal steroid trafficking ring out of North Attleboro that advertised on a bodybuilding website and offering 20% discounts to customers paying with the difficult-to-trace Bitcoin electronic currency.
The four ? three residents of North Attleboro and one from Providence ? made initial appearances in U.S. District Court on Wednesday afternoon and were release on unsecured bonds, by Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond.
According to the U.S. Attorney?s Office, the leader of the ring was David Esser, 46, of 9 Fisher St., Apt. 3, North Attleboro.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan, who presented the case in court, the following were also involved, mainly packaging steroids for shipping and taking them to the post office:
Esser?s ex-wife, Alison Shephard, 41, with a last known address of 41 Eddy St., North Attleboro;
Shephard?s fianc?, James McLaughlin, 34, also with a last known address of 41 Eddy St.;
and Mason Nieves, 27, with a last known address of 164 Parade St., Apt. 1, Providence.
Sullivan said Nieves also played a role in the financial operations of the ring, with money passing through his bank account before going into Esser?s.
The members of the ring face charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; conspiracy to distribute, possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to import controlled substances; manufacturing and distributing controlled substances; importation of controlled substances into the United States; trafficking in counterfeit goods and services; smuggling goods into the United States; wire fraud; and money laundering.
Shephard, McLaughlin and Nieves were released on $10,000 unsecured bond, meaning they will forfeit that amount if they fail to appear in court for proceedings.
Esser was released on $50,000 unsecured bond and will have to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.
Sullivan told Judge Almond that the government was not sure what conditions should be set for Esser?s release because investigators suspect he was not forthcoming when filling out court paperwork describing his finances.
?We know that he has money being transferred to him in Bitcoin,? Sullivan told the judge. ?We know he has a Bitcoin account that he didn?t disclose.?
Almond said that he will review the terms of release when Esser returns to court March 4 to review whether he qualifies for a court-appointed lawyer.
Source: https://www.providencejournal.com/n...g-on-bodybuilding-website-was-paid-in-bitcoin
