Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that Antony Graziano has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for distributing unprocessed poppyseeds used to manufacture controlled substances. The sentencing took place on October 2, 2025, before Chief United States District Judge Pamela Pepper.
Graziano pleaded guilty to conspiracy and a substantive count related to distributing materials or chemicals intended for the manufacture of a controlled substance, as outlined in Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846 and 843(a)(7).
Court records show that beginning in September 2020 and continuing for about two years, Graziano operated an internet-based business called Fireseed Bakery. Through this business, he sold unwashed poppyseeds with the intent that customers would extract opium alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and thebaine by soaking the seeds in liquids. He compared the potency of the resulting "poppyseed tea" to prescription opiates like Oxycodone and acknowledged that consuming this product carried significant risks including overdose and death.
At sentencing, Judge Pepper addressed the gravity of Graziano’s actions: “Judge Pepper focused on the serious nature of the offense and the tremendous risk and harm created by Graziano’s conduct.”
The court ordered Graziano's sentence to run consecutively with a separate 50-month sentence imposed by the Eastern District of Missouri. In addition to imprisonment, he received one year of supervised release following his sentence. He was also ordered to forfeit his home in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, along with approximately $20,000 seized from his bank accounts.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
For further information contact Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero at (414) 297-1700.
