United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced Jayson Omar Perez-Quinones, of Orlando, to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and money laundering. Judge Dalton also sentenced Jovan Rivera Rodriguez, of Kissimmee, to 5 years’ imprisonment for his role in conspiring to distribute fentanyl with Perez-Quiones.
The court also ordered Perez-Quinones to forfeit currency and real property which were traceable to proceeds of the offense.
In June, Judge Dalton sentenced Karen AltaGracia Perez, also of Orlando, Perez-Quinones’s coconspirator in money laundering and drug distribution, to 5 years and 6 months in federal prison. A fourth alleged conspirator, Orlando Rosa-Rodriguez, of Orlando, is currently in proceedings to determine his competency to stand trial.
On January 20, 2023, law enforcement executed numerous search and arrest warrants in the Orlando area, seizing from Perez-Quinones and Perez an additional estimated 13,000 “M/30” fentanyl pills, approximately $30,000 in currency, and a handgun. Based on a consent search of the home where River-Rodriguez was residing, the DEA recovered blue pills expected to contain fentanyl packaged for distribution, a black SCCY CPX-2 9mm handgun, 24 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, two loaded 9mm magazines, and $2,333 in cash.
According to court documents, in May 2021, Perez-Quinones provided $70,000 in drug proceeds to a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) undercover agent for the purposes of money laundering and, in September 2021, Perez-Quinones provided $130,000 of drug proceeds to launder. From February 2022 through the present, the investigation has resulted in numerous seizures of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl (“fenta-pills”) and powdered fentanyl.
Many of these pills were blue and are believed to have been pressed overseas before being shipped to the United States to resemble legitimately manufactured oxycodone (30 mg) pills with markings “M” and “30.” In April 2022, for example, Perez-Quinones and Rivera-Rodriguez arranged to receive a shipment of thousands of such pills. At their home in Orlando, Perez-Quinones and Perez packaged those pills into individual 200-pill bags (pictured below) for street delivery. Perez-Quinones and Perez then distributed those bags to mid-level distributors such as Rosa-Rodriguez for resale.
In April 2022, after the conspirators successfully imported the shipment of thousands of pills, the DEA and other law enforcement partners seized similar packages containing powdered fentanyl and tens of thousands of “fenta-pills.” The package containing those, such as the package addressed to Wellington Woods, where Rivera-Rodriguez resided on September 15, 2022, contained “fenta-pills” similar in color and design as those seized in multiple traffic stops from individuals leaving Perez-Quinones’ and Perez’s shared residence.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill. Perez-Quinones had pleaded guilty on April 20, 2023.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
