LOS ANGELES
A San Fernando Valley man who admitted to causing one fatal fentanyl overdose was sentenced Monday to 20 years and eight months in federal prison for using darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide, officials stated.
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald sentenced Brian McDonald, 23, of Van Nuys, whose aliases include “Malachai Johnson,” “SouthSideOxy,” and “Jefe DeMichoacan.”
McDonald pleaded guilty on July 17 to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
McDonald has been in federal custody since May 2023.
“This defendant led a drug-trafficking operation that used the dark corners of the internet to ship large quantities of fentanyl-laced pills – with deadly consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.
From at least April 2021 until May 2023, McDonald’s and others conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via darknet marketplaces such as “White House Market,” “Torrez,” and “AlphaBay.”
McDonald, using aliases, created vendor profiles on these marketplaces to sell illegal drugs in exchange for cryptocurrency.
McDonald created, monitored, and maintained the darknet vendor profiles, including updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders received online, and offloading Monero cryptocurrency received as drug deal payments into cryptocurrency wallets that McDonald controlled.
McDonald’s recruited and hired accomplices to help with packaging and shipping the narcotics that they sold on the darknet.
McDonald directed other co-conspirators on how to package and ship the narcotics, and he assisted them in the packaging and shipping.
Specifically, McDonald purchased bulk quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and then directed the activities of other co-conspirators to help sell these drugs on the dark web.
Among other activities, McDonald directed co-conspirators in receiving and tracking orders placed for fentanyl and cocaine on his dark web vendor profiles, packaging drug orders, and shipping drug orders to customers though the U.S. Postal Service.
Over the course of the conspiracy, McDonald knowingly oversaw and carried out hundreds of drug sales involving the distribution of large quantities of both fentanyl and cocaine, including hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills that collectively contained more than 12 kilograms of fentanyl.
As part of the conspiracy, McDonald distributed fentanyl-laced pills to victim Z.S., who ingested a fentanyl-laced pill sold to Z.S. by McDonald, which in turn resulted in Z.S.’s death.
McDonald also possessed firearms, specifically two gold-plated handguns—one without a serial number—to protect his drug trafficking business and the proceeds of drug sales made on darknet marketplaces.
Ciara Clutario, 23, of Burbank, pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge in this case and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2025.
The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter as part of JCODE.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Declan T. Conroy of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section prosecuted this case.