PHOENIX - This week, Juan Mark Sayegh, 44, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 48 months’ imprisonment and ordered to forfeit approximately $1.7 million in cash, real property, and other assets. Sayegh had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
A controlled substance analogue is a substance that is intended for human consumption and is substantially similar in chemical structure and pharmacological effect, or intended effect, to any drug scheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act, like cocaine, methamphetamine, JWH-018, Methcathinone, or Methylone.
Sayegh owned and operated Greenlight Distribution in Phoenix, Ariz., from July 2010 through July 2012. Greenlight manufactured and distributed designer synthetic drugs. Specifically, Greenlight manufactured and distributed synthetic cannabinoid products (commonly referred to as “spice") under the brand names Mary Jane’s Potpourri and Mary Jane’s Private Reserve. Greenlight also manufactured and distributed synthetic cathinone products (commonly referred to as “bath salts") under the brand names Go Fast Carpet Deodorizer and Quick Clean Carpet Deodorizer. These synthetic drugs were manufactured with chemicals imported from China and were designed to be smoked or ingested in order to get users high. These designer drugs were intentionally and falsely mislabeled as innocuous household products that were “not for human consumption" in order to circumvent federal consumer and drug laws. The products were sold to stores and individuals across the United States for great profit.
The operations at Greenlight ceased on July 25, 2012, when the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant at several locations associated with Greenlight and its employees as part of Operation Logjam. Operation Logjam was a U.S. Department of Justice -coordinated investigation of synthetic drug manufacturers and distributors across the United States.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Phoenix, Milwaukee, and Kansas City field offices, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Phoenix field office, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas under the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program. The prosecution was handled by Lacy Cooper, D.J. Pashayan, and Mark Wenker, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-16-00506-PHX-DGC (DKD)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-057_ Sayegh
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
