ALEXANDRIA, Va. - William Delonta Granberry, 37, of Hughesville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.
The plea follows a multi-year, multi-jurisdictional, and multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation designated “Operation Circuit Breaker." Operation Circuit Breaker focuses upon the illegal procurement and sale of prescription pain medication across the mid-Atlantic region. Five other defendants are currently facing charges and eight defendants have pleaded guilty as part of the investigation to date.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Granberry acknowledged that beginning in or around 2010, and continuing until December 2015, he fabricated prescriptions of oxycodone utilizing legitimate prescription paper delivered to his residence. He also admitted to fabricating the prescribing information of legitimate physicians obtained from the website DEANumber.com, and using primarily fictitious patient names. Granberry then recruited a network of co-conspirators who used individuals called “runners" to fill these fraudulent prescriptions at various pharmacies. After acquiring the fraudulently obtained oxycodone from his co-conspirators, Granberry distributed the oxycodone to other individuals for a high profit. Since approximately 2010, the criminal organization has fraudulently obtained approximately 65,000 oxycodone pills.
Granberry was charged by criminal complaint on Dec. 9, 2015, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 20, 2016. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based upon the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Hayden and Anna G. Kaminska, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney thanked the Department of Defense-Office of the Inspector General, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Virginia State Police, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this matter.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:14-cr-284, 1:14-cr-340, 1:14-cr-389, 1:15-cr-29, 1:16-cr-16, 1:16-cr-26, and 1:16-cr-28.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
