Florida woman convicted in cryptocurrency money laundering scheme

TYLER, Texas - A Jacksonville, Florida woman has pleaded guilty to federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

Sharena Seay, 39, pleaded guilty to money laundering before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love on April 11, 2024.

According to information presented in court, Seay laundered the proceeds of her drug trafficking operations through cryptocurrency. The defendant supplied alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), which is often called "flakka," and similar synthetic cathinones, such as Eutylone or alpha-PiHP. Seay distributed alpha-PVP 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 laundered the cash proceeds through cryptocurrency in order to purchase more controlled substances on the dark web and to conceal her criminal activity.

Seay faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The cases were investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld and D. Ryan Locker.

###