SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nathan Paul Barnes, 24, of Rancho
Cordova, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute narcotics, U.S.
Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Barnes operated a drug
distribution enterprise called “Fine Cali Herb” that used various social media
platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat. Barnes sold marijuana, THC
products, and psilocybin mushrooms to customers throughout the United States
and abroad. Barnes received payment for the narcotics in several forms,
including bitcoin.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Northern
California Illicit Digital Economy (NCIDE) Task Force, consisting of agents
from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The
NCIDE Task Force targets all forms of dark-web and cryptocurrency criminal
activity in the Eastern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grant
B. Rabenn and Paul A. Hemesath are prosecuting the case.
Barnes is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge John A. Mendez
on Jan. 14, 2020. Barnes faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in
prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined
at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory
factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number
of variables.
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