Members of Marijuana And Money Laundering Conspiracy Sentenced

RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced that in federal court on October 18 and October 19, 2017, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced five members of a marijuana and money laundering organization to active prison sentences.  Each of the defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. 

ALEXANDER WRIGHT FERGUSON, 31 years of age, from Suffolk, V.A., was sentenced to 42 months in prison for each count, to run concurrently.  FERGUSON will be on supervised release for 5 years upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.  Additionally, Judge Boyle entered an order of forfeiture directing FERGUSON to forfeit $250,000 representing the gross proceeds of his drug trafficking.  FERGUSON paid $10,000 towards the amount owed at sentencing.

SAMUEL SETH SMITHWICK, 33 years of age, from Washington, N.C., was sentenced to 33 months in prison for each count, to run concurrently.  SMITHWICK will be on supervised release for 3 years upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.  Additionally, Judge Boyle entered an order of forfeiture directing SMITHWICK to forfeit $36,270 seized upon SMITHWICK’S arrest. 

MICHAEL THOMAS HAAS, 55 years of age, from Pinehurst, N.C., was sentenced to 20 months in prison for each count, to run concurrently.  HAAS will be on supervised release for 3 years upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.  Additionally, Judge Boyle entered an order of forfeiture directing HAAS to forfeit $1,000,000 representing the gross proceeds of his drug trafficking.  HAAS received a credit towards the amount owed for the $177,195.97 that was seized from his bank accounts upon his arrest.

BRYAN EDWARD BOUGH, 37 years of age, from Fernley, N.V., was sentenced to 18 months in prison for each count, to run concurrently.  BOUGH will be on supervised release for 4 years upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.  Additionally, Judge Boyle entered an order of forfeiture directing BOUGH to forfeit $250,000 representing the gross proceeds of his drug trafficking. 

GEORGE ZORIO, 58 years of age, from Roseville, C.A., was sentenced to 33 months in prison for each count, to run concurrently.  ZORIO will be on supervised release for 4 years upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.  Additionally, Judge Boyle entered an order of forfeiture directing ZORIO to forfeit $250,000 representing the gross proceeds of his drug trafficking.

The investigation revealed the marijuana and money laundering conspiracy began no later than 2010 and continued until 2014.   FERGUSON and SMITWICK had shipments of marijuana, supplied by BOUGH and ZORIO, sent from California and NEVADA to North Carolina and Virginia through the U.S. mail.  Later during the conspiracy, four shipments totaling 375 pounds of marijuana were transported via private jets, rented by HAAS.  FERGUSON and SMITHWICK reimbursed HAAS for the jet rentals, and paid HAAS a portion of the net proceeds of the marijuana sales.  The marijuana was distributed to FERGUSON and SMITHWICK’S customers in North Carolina, Virginia, and Hawaii.  The total amount of marijuana distributed during the conspiracy was in excess of 600 pounds.  Drug proceeds in the amount of $1,834,098 were laundered through various bank accounts in amounts less than $10,000 to evade the federal transaction reporting requirement.

The investigation was conducted by several federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Dare County Sheriff’s Office, and the Greenville Regional Drug Task Force.

The federal prosecution was handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Glenn Perry.  Mr. Perry is a prosecutor with the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office.  Pitt County District Attorney Kimberly Robb has assigned Mr. Perry to the United States Attorney’s Office, pursuant to funding provided by the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters.