Alaska Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Role in Drug and Money Laundering Conspiracy

Anchorage, Alaska – Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today significant sentences in a recent drug ring case. Hakim Giddins, 36, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline to serve 16 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that brought controlled substances, including heroin and methamphetamine, into Alaska. On Feb. 14, 2017, Hakim Giddins pled guilty to drug conspiracy and money laundering, and was sentenced on May 24, 2017.

Hakim Giddins was indicted with multiple co-conspirators including Shakin Giddins, Markin Giddins, Tara McNutt, Kourtney Davis, and Briana Herndon. According to court documents, from 2014 to 2016, McNutt, Davis, and Herndon opened various mailboxes with Alaska addresses for the purpose of receiving heroin from California. This heroin was received and distributed in Alaska by Hakim Giddins and his co-conspirators. Hakim Giddins himself possessed and distributed heroin, and he knew or reasonably foresaw that the distribution of 1000 grams or more of heroin had been the central object of the agreement. As part of this case, Shakin Giddins pled guilty to drug conspiracy and money laundering, and Markin Giddins pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

During this same time frame, Hakim Giddins and others also entered into an agreement to launder the proceeds obtained from the distribution of drugs brought into Alaska by the conspiracy. The cash proceeds from the sale of these drugs was laundered by making deposits into bank accounts located in Alaska in other people’s names. This money was then withdrawn in California. Cash was also shipped in bulk from Alaska to California. Hakim Giddins directed others to make bank deposits in his behalf with money that he knew had come from drug trafficking. Hakim Giddins believed that by having the deposit made that way it would conceal his connection to the money as well as to the true source of the money.

Hakim Giddins has been a lifelong criminal, with court documents indicating his criminal activity began as early as age 12. In this current case, while he was incarcerated, he supervised the activities of his co-defendants. Furthermore, he intimidated a witness with violence if the witness proceeded to provide testimony against his brother Markin, a co-defendant in this case.

Multiple conspirators were indicted for criminal conduct related to this drug conspiracy. The following defendants have pleaded guilty to criminal charges and have been sentenced to the following prison terms in the past month:

• Hakim Giddins, sentenced to 16 years in prison on May 24, 2017

• Shakin Giddins, sentenced to 6 years in prison on May 25, 2017

• Markin Giddins, sentenced to 5 years in prison on May 16, 2017

• Tara McNutt, sentenced to 42 months in prison on June 8, 2017

• Kourtney Davis, sentenced to 18 months in prison on May 16, 2017

• Briana Herndon, sentenced to 9 months in prison on May 24, 2017

The Alaska case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephan A. Collins of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska, and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).