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Press Release

Waterloo Internent "Molly" Dealer To Federal Prison For Drug Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa

A Waterloo man who imported MDMA (also known as “ecstasy” or “Molly”) he ordered through the internet was sentenced yesterday to more than 12 years in federal prison.

Adam Brian Lawin, age 23, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 10, 2014, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute MDMA.

In a plea agreement, Lawin admitted that he obtained the MDMA by utilizing the highly encrypted drug trafficking marketplace website, Silk Road.  Lawin also admitted he insulated himself from detection by law enforcement by having the packages delivered to friends or acquaintances, and paying those individuals a nominal fee (either a small amount of MDMA or cash) for delivering the packages to him.  During a search of Lawin’s Waterloo residence on April 26, 2013, law enforcement seized over 1.3 kilograms of MDMA, printed materials describing how to manufacture various drugs, and a draft of a book being authored by Lawin regarding the use of Bitcoin to purchase drugs through Silk Road.  During searches of other locations on the same date, officers seized over 250 grams of MDMA destined for Lawin.

Lawin was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.  Lawin was sentenced to 147 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and Lawin was ordered to forfeit $100,000 in drug proceeds.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Lawin is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Securities Investigations, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force. 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is No. CR13-2040-1-LRR.

Updated February 19, 2015