In a recent cybercrime case, Tony Tan, a 28-year-old resident of San Francisco, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his involvement in selling methamphetamine-laced counterfeit Adderall pills through a dark web vendor site named Adderall123. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark, Postal Inspector in Charge Rafael Nuñez, and IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley.
Tan pleaded guilty to the charges in May 2023, admitting to operating Adderall123, a dark web marketplace where he sold fake Adderall pills pressed with methamphetamine. These counterfeit pills closely resembled legitimate Adderall, being orange, circular, and stamped with the letters “dp” and the number “30.” Tan distributed these pills to buyers across the United States through various dark web platforms, including Empire, ASAP, White House Market, and Torrez.
According to Tan’s plea agreement, he used the United States Postal Service to mail the drugs in smell-proof bags within Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes. To evade law enforcement, Tan recruited others to help with packaging, wrote fake sender names and addresses on packages, and paid postage in cash. Additionally, Tan accepted payments in cryptocurrency to maintain transaction anonymity.
Federal agents seized two packages from Tan on November 12, 2021, containing over 640 methamphetamine-pressed Adderall pills, equivalent to approximately 11.35 grams of actual methamphetamine. Tan was subsequently charged on March 29, 2023, with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and pleaded guilty to the charge.
In addition to the 18-month prison term, Tan has been ordered to forfeit $17,744 in U.S. currency and the cryptocurrency (Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin) seized from his accounts. After serving his prison term, Tan will undergo three years of supervised release. Judge Seeborg instructed Tan to self-surrender on April 2, 2024, to commence his prison sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina Green is prosecuting the case, with support from Pat Mahoney. The investigation leading to Tan’s arrest involved the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.