California Man sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug and money laundering conspiracy

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Joseph Cecil, aka “Kevin Dupree,” 53, of Sacramento, California, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  Cecil pleaded guilty on December 22, 2015, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and conspiracy to launder money.  His co-conspirator, Stacy Johnson also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and awaits sentencing on May 31, 2016.

According to court documents, Cecil has a long history of violating the laws related to illegal drug possession, trafficking, and money laundering. 

Between January 2013 and January 2015, Cecil entered into an agreement with Johnson and others to distribute methamphetamine and heroin throughout Alaska.  Cecil orchestrated a system wherein the drugs were sent to Alaska from California.  Cecil himself then took possession of these drugs with the intent to distribute them in Alaska communities.

Furthermore, Cecil conspired with the others to launder the proceeds of the drug sales in an attempt to conceal and disguise the nature, source, ownership, and control of the funds.  Cecil, Johnson, and others laundered money knowing that the money represented the proceeds of drug sales.  Cecil arranged for his co-defendants to use a series of bank accounts to move money made from the sale of heroin and methamphetamine.  Proceeds were deposited in Alaska and withdrawn in California.  In other instances, Cecil instructed members of the group to send drug sale proceeds via Western Union and Money Gram wire transfers.  Thousands of dollars were transferred from Alaska to California using these methods of money transfer.  This money laundering activity also further supported the distribution of heroin and methamphetamine in Alaska.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephan Collins, Lead Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Attorney for the District of Alaska.  The case was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force which includes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).