KC Man Pleads Guilty to $1.2 Million Oxycodone Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a $1.2 million conspiracy to distribute oxycodone that was obtained by using forged and fraudulent prescriptions.

Robert G. Joy, also known as “Bear,” 34, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to the charge contained in a Feb. 2, 2016, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Joy admitted that he participated in a conspiracy from June 2013 to January 2016 to distribute, and to possess with the intent to distribute, oxycodone. Conspirators obtained prescription-quality paper commonly used by authorized health care providers to write prescriptions. They also obtained the DEA registration numbers of health care providers, which they used to prepare fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone.

Conspirators took the false prescriptions to pharmacies in Kansas City metropolitan area. They commonly sold the oxycodone 30mg pills for between $15 to $25 per pill.

Joy was arrested with co-defendant Katherine E. Beaven, 33, of Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 26, 2013. Kansas City Police Department detectives stopped the vehicle Joy was driving. Officers found an orange pill bottle in the car that contained 34 oxycodone pills, which was marked as a prescription in another person’s name. Officers also found a three-ring binder that contained a dozen forged prescriptions for oxycodone as well as blank sheets of prescription-quality paper.

Joy is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in this case. Beaven, Timothy D. Kroenke, 27, Nicholas Destefano, 38, and Jermaine C. Brooks, 29, all of Kansas City, Mo., Christopher J. Neale, 27, of Harrisonville, Mo.; and Thomas Poindexter, 42, of Olathe, Kan., have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Co-defendants Michelle C. Newton, 46, and Felicita A. San Miguel, also known as “Cassandra Jasso,” “Susan Hernandez,” and “Sarah Buckner,” 38, both of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

Under federal statutes, Joy is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Joy must also forfeit to the government a $1.2 million money judgment, which represents the proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the police departments of Riverside, Blue Springs, Independence, Kearney, Odessa, Nevada, Higginsville, Drexel Lee’s Summit and Butler.