Herkimer County Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Bath Salts With Intent to Distribute

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jordan Burks a/k/a Justin Burts, age 32, of Ilion, New York, pled guilty today to possessing 860 grams of the drug commonly called “bath salts” with the intent to distribute it, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office. 

Burks admitted that on January 12, 2022, he possessed at his home approximately 454 grams of alpha-Pyrrolidinohexiophenone, three digital scales, and $19,393 in cash. Burks admitted that he intended to sell the bath salts. He further admitted that between October 2021 and January 2022, law enforcement seized 5 packages containing additional bath salts that were supposed to be delivered to his apartment.

Burks pled guilty before United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 20, 2023.  Burks faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and a term of supervised release of between 3 years and life.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.   

This case was investigated by HSI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner.