Former Pittsburgh resident sentenced to 34 years in prison for large-scale fentanyl trafficking and money laundering convictions

Date: Nov. 19, 2024
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Pittsburgh, PA - A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 34 years of imprisonment, to be followed by lifetime supervised release, on his convictions of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl and conspiracy to commit money laundering, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Paris Carter. Earlier this year, a federal jury in Pittsburgh found Carter guilty of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to information presented to the Court, between January 2017 and February 2018, Carter arranged for the illegal importation of multiple kilograms of fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl directly from China into the Pittsburgh area and then arranged for the distribution of those drugs in the Pittsburgh area. Using the proceeds of his drug trafficking, Carter moved to Beverly Hills, California, where he rented two different homes at costs of $14,500 and $10,000 per month and also leased three vehicles: two Bentleys and a Mercedes Benz.

The evidence at trial also established that Carter laundered his drug trafficking proceeds by using others to initiate financial transactions in their names to pay for the drugs obtained from China. He also provided drug proceeds to approximately seven other individuals who used the funds to purchase cashier checks that Carter then used as downpayments on his vehicles, which he arranged to lease in the name of his aunt and co-defendant, Tamara Carter, whom the jury acquitted at trial.

"Paris Carter's time driving Bentleys and living a life of luxury in Beverly Hills has come to an end," said U.S. Attorney Olshan. "Today, a federal judge imposed a 34-year prison sentence, an appropriate punishment for a defendant who flooded the Pittsburgh area with kilogram quantities of Chinese-sourced fentanyl. Holding the most dangerous and prolific drug traffickers accountable to the fullest extent of the law is and will remain a top priority for our office and our valued partners in federal, state, and local law enforcement."

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Horan noted the serious nature and impact of Carter's crimes and stated that her sentencing of the defendant reflected both the course of conduct Carter chose to pursue and flagrancy Carter adopted in his actions.

Carter had previously been convicted in the Western District of Pennsylvania of a serious drug felony-namely, possession with the intent to distribute heroin, for which he was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment in 2011.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Brendan J. McKenna prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.