Guilty Pleas To Fentanyl, Wire Fraud Charges Made By Silver Spring Man

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Silver Spring man was sentenced Monday to 70 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Tyronn Waters, 32, pleaded guilty on July 13 to one count each of conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In August 2021, federal and local law enforcement officers began investigating a suspected drug trafficking ring in the District and Maryland that was pressing fentanyl pills. Waters admitted in his plea agreement that he was part of the ring and conspired to possess and distribute the various narcotics. The ring used three pill presses to manufacture the narcotics that included counterfeit Oxycodon pills containing fentanyl. Waters also admitted that he'd purchased wholesale amounts of the fake prescription pills, which he redistributed for profit. He also admitted to having a firearm in connection with the offense.

FBI executed a search warrant on March 29, 2022 at an apartment in the 1300 block of 4th St. S.E. in D.C., which was used as a stash house by the pill pressing operation, according to the DOJ. Agents seized baggies of pills and loose power, which taken together amounted to more than 516 pills and over 76 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl.

Waters' guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemmed from he and his co-conspirators using stolen personal identifiable information to apply for unemployment insurance benefits, according to court documents. The scheme involved numerous victims in Maryland, North Carolina, California, and elsewhere. Once the conspirators received the benefits, they obtained pre-loaded debit cards, which they used to make purchases throughout Maryland and the District. Waters admitted in his plea agreement that he was accountable for between $250,000 and $550,000 in losses stemming from the conspiracy.

At the completion of his sentence, Waters will be required to serve three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $100,000.