Worcester Man Charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Being a Felon in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition

BOSTON – A Worcester man was arrested today for conspiring to distribute fentanyl and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  

Yoelfi Feliz, 27, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and being a felon in possession of a firearms and ammunition. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston today, Feliz was detained pending a hearing scheduled for Nov. 30, 2023. 

According to the criminal complaint, between June 2023 and October 2023, Feliz sold over 700 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Lawrence. Feliz also allegedly sold the cooperating witness two pistols, an AR-15 rifle, an AK-47 rifle and two privately made firearms, also known as “ghost guns,” along with ammunition. 

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and the Lawrence, Methuen and Worcester Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting the case. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.