RICHMOND, Va. – A former Richmond man pleaded guilty today
to distribution of drugs similar to fentanyl.
According to court documents, Mark Faulkner, 36, was
identified as part of a multi-agency federal investigation into illegal drug
sales on “dark web” market places. Marketplaces on the dark web, like AlphaBay,
Dream, and Hansa, function as a place where a wide variety of illegal goods and
services, including narcotics, firearms, child pornography, stolen credit card
numbers, and counterfeit identity documents, can be bought and sold with
greater anonymity than on the traditional Internet.
In 2017, investigators with HSI and USPIS conducted online
undercover operations targeting the importation and distribution of drugs on
these dark web marketplaces. In addition to making covert online purchases of
drugs, investigators also operated a cash-for-Bitcoin exchange business,
through which they received Bitcoin from drug vendors in return for bulk cash
that investigators shipped back to the drug vendors as part of the
investigative process.
Faulkner used the vendor name CHANG1927 to advertise
Adderall and fentanyl products on multiple dark markets. Investigators
identified Faulkner through Bitcoin exchange transactions and three purchases
of drugs that were advertised as fentanyl. Forensic testing later determined
that the substance was actually cyclopropyl fentanyl, an analogue of fentanyl.
Controlled substance analogues have chemical structures that are substantially
similar, and have similar effects on the central nervous system as the
controlled substances.
Faulkner pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled
substance analogue and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when
sentenced on April 29. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less
than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any
sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other
statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia; Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI) Washington, D.C.; Peter R. Rendina, Inspector in Charge of the Washington
Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and David W. Archey, Special
Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after
U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Brian R. Hood is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of
the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court
documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for
the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No.
3:19-cr-177.
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