Leader of Multi-State Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Eric Scott, age 40, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in federal court in Greenville today.  The Court also imposed a money judgment against Scott in the amount of approximately $ 1,300,000.

The evidence at trial showed that Scott participated in a drug conspiracy that spanned 13 years, beginning in 2003.  Members of the conspiracy operated in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Louisiana.  Testimony from numerous witnesses established that during the course of the conspiracy, members of the conspiracy distributed in excess of 100 kilograms of cocaine, over 1,000 pounds of marijuana, and in excess of 5 kilograms of crack cocaine.

Scott operated primarily in Anderson, South Carolina, as local distributors.  The evidence showed that Scott entered the conspiracy in 2003 and continued participating in the conspiracy even while imprisoned on federal drug charges from 2007-2011 and after his release until his arrest in this case in 2015.

Law enforcement officers utilized remote surveillance, wiretaps, confidential sources and other investigative techniques to ultimately charge in excess of 20 defendants in the case.  Scott and co-defendant Antonio Crawley were the only defendants who went to trial.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized in excess of $1.5 million in U.S. Currency, over 5 kilograms of cocaine, quantities of marijuana and crack cocaine, and numerous firearms.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Moorman, Deputy Narcotics Chief for the Narcotics Unit, was the lead prosecutor. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson Police Department, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Department of Public Safety, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Franklin County (GA) Sheriff’s Office, and the Douglas County (GA) Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. 

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