Four Defendants in North Idaho Drug Trafficking Organization Plead Guilty

COEUR D'ALENE – Jessica Nadine Frederick, 26, of Spokane, Washington, Sean Lee Jackson, 27, of Las Vegas, Nevada, Steven Wayne Jackson, 30, of Las Vegas, Nevada and Kristin Rene Wilson, 28, of Riverside, California pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Frederick, Sean Jackson and Steven Jackson pled guilty on November 15, 2016.  Wilson pled guilty this morning.  In addition to pleading guilty to the drug charge, Wilson and Sean Jackson pled guilty to conspiracy to launder money.  The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on January 20, 2016.  In total, 11 defendants were indicted in the case and to date seven have pled guilty. 

During the plea hearings, each defendant admitted to being part of the Loren Toelle Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO).  Each defendant admitted to helping sell and transport heroin and oxycodone pills which traveled through Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.  Specifically, the defendants admitted the DTO operated from at least 2009 and continued until February 4, 2016.  Each defendant also admitted to making sure the profits went back to the DTO and agreed to forfeit any interest in real property, jewelry or cash held by them or conspirators as outlined in the indictment.  Wilson and Sean Jackson admitted to helping launder proceeds for the DTO by depositing drug proceeds into bank accounts, Money Tree or MoneyGram accounts in an attempt to hide the money or try to make it appear as if it was from a legitimate source. 

Frederick and Steven Jackson each face up to 20 years in prison, at least 3 years supervised release, a maximum fine of $1,000,000, and a $100 special assessment. 

Wilson and Sean Jackson each face at least 5 years and up to 40 years in prison, at least 4 years of supervised release, a maximum fine of $4,000,000 and a $100 special assessment.

Sentencing is set for March 7 and 8, 2017, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.

The case was investigated by CDA Police, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Kootenai County Sheriff, North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The indictments are the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which included the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Marshals Service and the North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force. 

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.