South Carolina man Onesepherous L. Grissette has been sentenced to federal prison for distributing thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl from South Carolina to North Georgia using the U.S. Postal Service.
“The danger posed by counterfeit pills and fentanyl is a real and continuing threat to our citizens and has claimed many lives,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Our office and agency partners are continually developing new and innovate investigative strategies for identifying traffickers who peddle these dangerous drugs and to hold them accountable for causing irreparable harm to our communities.”
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“The US Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. “We remain steadfast to seek justice to the end and to keep communities safe through continued collaborative investigative efforts with our law enforcement partners.”
According to court documents and information presented by U.S. Attorney Buchanan, in July 2022, U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigators intercepted a package of pills shipped from South Carolina to an address in Chickamauga, Georgia. Though the pills resembled oxycodone, testing confirmed they contained fentanyl. Investigators discovered that Grissette had been shipping over 4,500 counterfeit pills to the recipient for nearly two years, receiving approximately $85,000 in payment.
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Onesepherous L. Grissette, 43, of Conway, South Carolina, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance on June 24, 2024, after pleading guilty.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force and the Horry County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina. Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A. Leipold, III, prosecuted the case.
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