SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Four individuals have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of South Dakota release on Thursday.
Three of those four individuals were also sentenced for money laundering: Nathan Johnson, 39, of Denver was sentenced in September to more than 36 years. Michele Johnson, 48, of Steen, Minnesota was sentenced to more than 31 years and Jesse Richmond, 51, of Sioux Falls was sentenced to more than 24 years.
Tony Hunter, 53, of Sioux Falls, was sentenced to 27 years for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
All four plead guilty to the charges.
Two additional people Mathew Thomas and Alfed Siani were also involved and indicted. Their cases are pending.
From December 2022 to July 2023 the co-conspirators transported large loads of methamphetamine from California to Sioux Falls.
Nathan Johnson, the leader of the conspiracy, travelled from Denver to meet with his drug supplier in California. He received about 150 pounds of meth to be distributed in Colorado and South Dakota through his co-conspirators: Richmond, Hunter and Michele Johnson who would distribute the meth in Sioux Falls and southwest Minnesota.
The amount of meth was more than 300 pounds and drug proceeds laundered were in excess of $450,000.
“These sentences should serve as a wake-up call to anyone transporting or distributing
methamphetamine into South Dakota communities,” (DEA) Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Steve Bell said in the release. “These four people (N. Johnson, M. Johnson, Richmond and Hunter) are facing a combined 119 years in federal prison. Each sentence should provide the offender with ample time to reflect on the damage and destruction they’ve inflicted on so many lives.”
“We are grateful for the collaboration of more than a dozen federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and joint task forces, as well as out-of-state agencies, which resulted in the takedown of a network of drug dealers responsible for bringing hundreds of pounds of illegal narcotics into South Dakota,” said United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell in the release.
