Dana Diane Shay, a 37-year-old resident of Fountain Valley, California, has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, Shay participated in a drug trafficking operation that extended into South Carolina.
In November and December 2020, Shay delivered large quantities of drugs as part of this conspiracy. On November 25, 2020, she delivered 29 pounds of methamphetamine in Charlotte, North Carolina. She returned on December 7, 2020, delivering an additional 50 pounds of methamphetamine and 45 pounds of marijuana in the same city.
Shay was arrested on federal drug trafficking charges in December 2020 and arraigned in Greenville, South Carolina. After being released on bond, she cut off her ankle monitor and became a fugitive in August 2021. Authorities located and arrested her out of state in August 2024. The court increased her sentence due to her period as a fugitive.
United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins sentenced Shay to 204 months imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. The court also imposed a $300,000 money judgment against her.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF works to identify and dismantle major drug traffickers and criminal organizations through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. More information about the program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Multiple agencies were involved in investigating this case including Homeland Security Investigations Border Enforcement Security Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office; Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office; Greenville County Sheriff’s Office; Greenville Police Department; Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit; the South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General; and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Schoen prosecuted the case.
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