New York Man Admits Continuing to Sell Counterfeit Xanax on Dark Web

ST. LOUIS – A man from New York state on Tuesday admitted continuing to sell counterfeit Xanax on the dark web while out on bond after pleading guilty in a similar case.

John Cruz, 31, of Rochester, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of conspiracy to misbrand, introduce misbranded drugs and sell counterfeit drugs.

On Nov. 29, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to the same charge and admitted purchasing counterfeit Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, on the darknet and then reselling it from at least October 2019 through May 2021.

As part of his guilty plea Tuesday, Cruz admitted that after pleading guilty and while out on bond, he continued the same conduct, operating a darknet website where he offered four different types of counterfeit/misbranded pills. An FBI Special Agent, acting in an undercover capacity, made several purchases from Cruz using cryptocurrency.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service made an undercover purchase from Cruz’ co-defendant, Jared James. On April 9, 2024, investigators conducted a court-approved search of James’ home and found pills in four colors. The day before, officers observed James take five packages to a post office that were addressed to locations in Little Rock, Arkansas; Burien, Washington; St. Paul, Minnesota; Richmond, Virginia; and Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Each package contained a bag with about 1,000 counterfeit or misbranded pills.

Investigators also seized $145,502 from an account Cruz held in the cryptocurrency Monero, representing the proceeds of his illegal pill sales.

Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced on October 7. Each count Cruz is facing is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

James, 48, of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced in May to 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to the same charge.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Ware and Kyle Bateman are prosecuting the case.