Florida Woman Convicted of Laundering Crypto to Facilitate Drug Sales

Earlier this year, Sharena Seay of Jacksonville, Florida pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in the Eastern District of Texas related to her laundering the proceeds of her drug trafficking operations through cryptocurrency. 

This investigation was led by the United States Secret Service and the US Postal Inspection Service with support from IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. 

“This case exemplifies the Secret Service’s mission to protect the financial infrastructure of the United States” said Brad Schley, U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge of the Tyler Resident Office in a statement to TRM. “We remain determined and vigilant to combat cyber-enabled financial fraud.” 

The defendant distributed alpha-PVP – aka “flakka” – and other controlled substances to various customers across the United States.  Customers who purchased controlled substances from Seay paid for their purchases with cash. Seay then took the cash from the drug sales and converted those funds into cryptocurrency. Seay, according to court documents, performed this financial transaction 77 times, purchasing over 80 bitcoin in exchange for over $1.2 million in cash. Seay then used the bitcoin to purchase additional drugs and repeat the cycle.

 “The Department of Justice is committed to identifying and prosecuting individuals who sell dangerous narcotics in our communities and launder the proceeds.  But as new technologies emerge, we must adapt,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs in announcing the conviction. “We will follow the money through traditional financial investigations, like we always have, as well as through the use of blockchain technology.”

Congratulations to Secret Service, USPIS, IRS-CI, ATF, and DOJ. TRM is proud to support law enforcement in tracking and tracing funds to build investigations and prosecute bad actors. 

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