Nicholas Co. Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Oxycodone Distribution And Money Laundering Scheme

Keith Keiffer received packages containing thousands of powerful painkiller pills by mail from Fla.; deposited at least $30,000 in bank as payment for pills 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Nicholas County pill dealer was sentenced today to four years in federal prison in connection with an oxycodone distribution and money laundering scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Keith Keiffer, 32, of Calvin, Nicholas County, W.Va., previously pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  From at least August 31, 2011 until April 27, 2012, Keiffer received at least 15 express mail packages that contained a total of approximately 1,400 30-milligram oxycodone tablets from an individual located in Tampa, Fla. In exchange for the oxycodone tablets, Keiffer deposited cash into bank accounts that were owned and controlled by his pill source of supply.  Keiffer deposited at least $30,000 in cash payments in exchange for the oxycodone tablets.  Additionally, between June 2011 and February 2012, Keiffer received several hand-delivered packages that contained a total of approximately 4,150 oxycodone tablets from an individual who made trips to West Virginia from Florida.      

The West Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn handled the prosecution.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger.   

This case was prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.