Brooklyn Woman Pleads Guilty to Nationwide Marijuana Trafficking and Money Laundering Conspiracies
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Onisha Smith, age 41, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute marijuana and money laundering.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; Troy Police Chief Daniel DeWolf; and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.
Smith admitted that she was a member of a marijuana and THC trafficking organization that shipped thousands of kilograms of marijuana and THC from Fresno, California, to locations throughout the United States, including New York City and the Capital Region, between 2017 and June 2022. She also admitted to laundering marijuana proceeds for the organization.
The packages of marijuana were shipped through UPS and FedEx from a shipping store in Fresno, Fast Pack & Ship, by Dwight A. Singletary II, aka “Nutt” and “Mike Jones,” and McKenzie Merrialice Coles, aka “Kenzie.” Smith received the packages of marijuana at, among other locations, her apartment and a neighboring apartment in Brooklyn; her brother, Lateek White, also received packages of marijuana at his residence in Brooklyn. In total, Smith and White received 71 packages containing approximately 294 kilograms, or 648 pounds, of marijuana.
Smith also laundered marijuana proceeds for the organization by purchasing cashier’s checks with cash marijuana proceeds for Singletary; depositing cash marijuana proceeds into her bank accounts and transferring the money to Singletary; and receiving payment for marijuana and transferring it to Singletary.
Smith faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the two counts to which she pled guilty, conspiring to distribute marijuana and conspiring to commit money laundering; fines of up to $1 million and $500,000, respectively, on each count; and a term of supervised release of between 3years and life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Smith was charged in an indictment with Singletary, Coles, White and 20 other people charging marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracies, firearms offenses, and other crimes. Singletary and Coles have pled not guilty and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations.
In addition to Smith, White and seven other defendants, Rosemary Coles, Latrice Mumphrey, Sammy Olague, Victor Turner, Kristle Walker, Ruby Ledesma, and Jazell Shuler, previously pled guilty and are pending sentencing.
The ATF, DEA, Troy Police Department and HSI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyrus P.W. Rieck and Dustin C. Segovia are prosecuting the case.
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.
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