Oregon Man Convicted Of Diverting Medical Marijuana And Money Laundering

An Oregon man, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Money Laundering, was sentenced to federal prison on December 17, 2015, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, James L. Porter, announced today. Walter Wayne Moser, 51, of Eugene, Oregon, received a 1 year and 1 day sentence for offenses which occurred in the Southern District of Illinois. Moser had previously pled guilty to those offenses. Following release from imprisonment, Moser will serve a 3 year term of supervised release. Moser was also ordered to pay a $375 fine and a $200 special assessment.

The investigation in this case showed that Moser operated a medical marijuana dispensary that was legal under Oregon state law. In addition to dispensing medical marijuana to patients in Oregon, Moser diverted pounds of marijuana to a co-defendant, Jason Furlong, in West Frankfort, Illinois, where the marijuana was resold for recreational use. Furlong would sell the marijuana and send payment back to Moser by FedEx in packages addressed to Moser’s graphic design company, which Moser used as a front to conceal the nature of the drug proceeds.

"Even as States like Illinois and Oregon have enacted laws allowing for medical use of marijuana, the United States Department of Justice still maintains a strong federal interest in preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law, in some form,

to other states, and in preventing the diversion of marijuana intended for medical use to recreational use," said Acting United States Attorney James L. Porter.

Evidence in support of this prosecution was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Agencies participating in this case include the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, and the Illinois State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald S. Boyce.