Patricia Parker from Austin, Texas pleads guilty and is sentenced in fentanyl trafficking scheme

Who and what

Patricia Parker, a 74-year-old woman from Austin, Texas, distributed fentanyl through the mail in 2022, totaling the equivalent of 150,000 lethal doses as part of a side hustle to pay for her medications. She sent more than 1,000 parcels suspected to be illegal drugs and distributed counterfeit amphetamine pills containing fentanyl.

Timeline and investigation

The trafficking scheme unravelled in 2022 when she attempted to sell counterfeit amphetamines to an undercover FDA agent. The investigation began in May 2022 during which she distributed counterfeit amphetamine pills containing fentanyl to an undercover FDA Special Agent. Ten months into the probe, agents raided Parker's home and found over 18,000 pills, including Adderall, oxycodone and diazepam, some in an ornamental tin.

Evidence collected

The pills included Schedule II and IV controlled substances unapproved for use by the FDA. Parker pleaded guilty in May this year to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of over 310 grams of fentanyl.

Legal outcome

She was sentenced on November 25 to two years of probation with a nine month home confinement. Her attorney said she had purchased her medications from a man named John for years, and Covid-related problems left her unable to pay, leading to the side hustle.

Background and role

Parker then distributed John's drugs in exchange for her own medications, and the arrangement was described as a side hustle. Parker became a remailer, breaking up large shipments into smaller parcels for distribution.

In her own words and investigators

She has claimed she did not know she had distributed fentanyl. The case was jointly investigated by the Office of Criminal Investigations, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the FDA. The investigation began in May 2022.