24 January – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced that defendant, Marc Wells, of Burlington, Vermont, pled guilty today in West Palm Beach in Case No. 05-80138-Cr-Hurley before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley. Wells pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the illegal distribution of Oxycodone, a controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(b) (Count 28). Wells also pled guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce to carry on the illegal distribution of Oxycodone sent from Florida and distributed on the streets in Vermont, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1952(a)(3), (Count 42). Wells faces a maximum punishment of twenty (20) years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine on the drug charge, and five (5) years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the illegal use of a facility of interstate commerce charge. Wells also agreed to forfeit $15,000 cash derived from the scheme.
Wells has remained in federal custody since his Indictment in August, 2005 relating to his involvement in an Oxycontin distribution ring that operated between Florida and Vermont for several years. As stated in open court by Assistant United States Attorney Steve Carlton, the Government had linked nearly 7,000 Oxycodone tablets to the drug conspiracy. According to Court records, the Oxycodone in this case was obtained illegally from a health care professional through the use of fraudulent prescriptions in the names of real persons who were not actual medical patients. The Oxycodone was then shipped from Florida to Vermont for street distribution. This scheme lasted over two years.
United States Attorney Acosta commended the long-term investigative efforts of the DEA. A sentencing date has not yet been set. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen Carlton and Antonia Barnes.
