James Rauh and his family have won a $30 million judgment against the Zheng drug trafficking organization (DTO), which has been found liable for the death of Rauh’s son, Tommy, who died from fentanyl poisoning. This federal judgment was announced by Families Against Fentanyl on August 1.
"Our son Tommy was stolen from us. He never stood a chance against the incredibly potent fentanyl provided by the Zheng cartel. America is losing 200 people a day to this poison – that’s a death every 7 minutes. To save lives, we must stop the foreign manufacturers and traffickers of illegal fentanyl and hold them accountable," said James Rauh in the August 1 news release.
Thomas "Tommy" Rauh began using prescribed opioids following a rollerblading accident and subsequently became addicted. According to Families Against Fentanyl, he moved on to heroin and died in 2015 after taking an injection that contained acetyl fentanyl, an ingredient he was unaware of. The substance was so potent that he died before completing the injection.
The Rauh family also won a state case against Zheng DTO, with an $18 million award, but say not enough is being done to stop fentanyl from entering the United States.
"It is a weapon of mass destruction. We need to use every tool available to identify and stop these illegal fentanyl operations. My family and I are doing our part, but U.S. leaders must do more too. Almost all of the illicit fentanyl killing America’s young people is manufactured outside the United States. Designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction would empower the U.S. to do more to find these foreign operations, stop them and arrest more international drug manufacturers and traffickers like the Mexican cartel leaders arrested last week," said Rauh in the August 1 news release.
According to the filing for default judgment, James Rauh filed a complaint against Fujing Zheng et al., alleging that all were part of the Zheng DTO. Rauh alleged that Zheng DTO distributed acetyl fentanyl and other illegal substances in the US and that his son died as a result of injecting acetyl fentanyl manufactured and distributed by Zheng DTO.
On July 9, 2024, Rauh’s motion for default judgment was granted with $30 million in damages plus attorney’s fees and court costs, totaling $30,041391.
Families Against Fentanyl is a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting illicitly manufactured fentanyl declared a weapon of mass destruction so that all resources of federal and state governments can be utilized to eliminate this threat. The organization also works to raise awareness about the toxicity and accessibility of illicit fentanyl, hold foreign governments responsible for their role in the US fentanyl crisis, destigmatize substance use, and promote harm reduction programs. Founded in March 2018 as Rising Anchor, it changed its name to Families Against Fentanyl in June 2019 according to its "About" page.
