Twelve Defendants Convicted in Cross-State Social Media Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Twelve Defendants Convicted in Cross-State Social Media Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

CONCORD – Twelve individuals have pleaded guilty over the last eight months in federal court for their participation in a social media-facilitated drug trafficking ring that distributed deadly fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine across New Hampshire and Maine, United States Attorney Erin Creegan announces.

Jacob D. King, 41, of Milton, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving more than 40 grams of fentanyl.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 27, 2026.

Riley J. Paletta, 26, of Hudson, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Sentencing is pending.

Amanda E. Gray a/k/a Amanda E. Camera a/k/a Amanda E. Douglass, 39, of Fairfield, Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving more than 40 grams of fentanyl.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 22, 2026.

Benjamin M. Fields, 41, of Laconia, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving more than 40 grams of fentanyl.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 16, 2026.

John N. Titus, 35, of Farmington, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 12, 2026.

Christian F. Gerlach, 52, of Manchester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 13, 2026.

Moses J. Losuk, 28, of Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2025.

Timothy E. Boston a/k/a Timothy Earl Boston II, 38, of Nashua, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante sentenced Boston to 30 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release.

Robert A. Arrington, 38, of Bangor, Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Sentencing is scheduled for December 11, 2025.

Robert W. Whiteside Jr., 46, of Exeter, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 5, 2026.

William L. Wheelock, 34, of Windham, Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante sentenced Wheelock to 50 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.

Alexander L. Wilson, 38, of Belfast, Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Sentencing is scheduled for December 8, 2025.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2023, law enforcement officers received information that a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts, was trafficking narcotics to customers in New Hampshire and Maine using text messages and social media messaging apps. From the fall of 2023 into the spring of 2024, law enforcement officers made a series of controlled drug purchases and conducted searches of residences utilized by the DTO that resulted in seizures of approximately two and a half kilograms of fentanyl, 250 grams of methamphetamine and 28 grams of cocaine, and the recovery of handguns.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted additional enforcement operations, including searches of the DTO’s social media platforms and conducted searches of vehicles and residences that indicated the DTO trafficked in an additional 20 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of methamphetamine and 200 grams of cocaine.  Six DTO drug customers also sought to trade firearms, including shotguns, rifles, and handguns for narcotics.

With respect to King, Gray, and Fields, the charging statute provides for a sentence of not less than 5 years and up to 40 years in federal prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $5,000,000.  With respect to the others, the charging statute provides for a sentence of not more than 20 years in federal prison, at least three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. The Hudson Police Department, the Bedford Police Department, the Nashua Police Department, the Manchester Police Department, the Laconia Police Department, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Strafford County Sheriff’s Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cesar Vega is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).