Seattle Man Sentenced for Buying 630,000 Counterfeit Pills on the Dark Web

ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced a man who bought 630,000 counterfeit Xanax and other pills on the dark web to five years in prison and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine.

Maximillian Gregory Verbowski will also be on supervised release for three years after his release from prison.

From October 2019 to August 30, 2021, Verbowski used cryptocurrency and cash to buy bulk quantities of counterfeit generic alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug, and other prescription pills on the dark web and resell them. Verbowski's source bought drug ingredients from China and used a pill press and stamps to mimic the pill markings used by real manufacturers. The supplier then shipped the pills to post office boxes Verbowski opened using aliases.

Verbowski, now 29, of Seattle, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of conspiracy to sell counterfeit drugs, selling counterfeit drugs and using a fictitious name on mail to commit a crime.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations.