Pocatello Man Sentenced in Spice Case for Conspiring to Launder Money
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 17, 2014 |
POCATELLO—John D. Heim, 41, of Pocatello, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to launder money, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Judge N. Randy Smith of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting by designation as a district court judge, also ordered Heim to perform 100 hours of community service after he is released from prison. He pleaded guilty to the charge on September 26, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, between March 1 and September 14, 2013, Heim owned and operated Heim Inc., a business engaged in the sale of “spice,” a smokeable material containing a Schedule I controlled substance analogue. Heim admitted that he and other individuals engaged in monetary transactions in excess of $10,000 from funds derived from the illegal sale and distribution of spice. According to the plea agreement, the total amount of funds derived from the unlawful activity is $163,534.
As a result of the conviction, Heim will forfeit to the government property he owns at 354 S. 5th in Pocatello and 572 Fort Hall Ave., American Falls, Idaho.
The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Pocatello Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Blackfoot Police Department, and Idaho State Police. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and U.S. Marshals Service.
The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.