Two Men Sentenced In Marijuana Distribution Conspiracy

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that two men convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance were sentenced on January 27, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Samuel Joseph Pfeifle, age 27, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sean Michael McFarland, age 33, of Vermillion, South Dakota, were both sentenced to 60 months in prison, to be followed by 4 years of supervised release.

The United States obtained money judgments against both men ($80,000 as to Pfeifle and $100,000 as to McFarland) as forfeiture of money or property they acquired as a result of their illegal activities. 

The men were indicted on September 10, 2013, for conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.  McFarland pled guilty on October 30, 2013, and Pfeifle pled guilty on November 7, 2013.

The men joined a conspiracy to illegally distribute marijuana in South Dakota and elsewhere.  During their involvement, the men grew, harvested, and obtained marijuana, illegally distributed it, caused it to be illegally delivered and distributed, paid others for it, and received payments for it.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in both South Dakota and California, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Larson prosecuted the case.

Both men were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.