Cleveland Woman Sentenced to Over 24 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy and Money Laundering

AKRON - Branea Bryant, age 30, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced yesterday to 290 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams. In March 2023, a jury convicted Bryant of one count of Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, and three counts of Money Laundering. The court also ordered Bryant to serve 10 years of supervised release following imprisonment and pay a $500 special assessment.

The following information is based on court documents and evidence presented at trial.

Based upon a long term, multi-agency investigation, the FBI determined that members of the conspiracy were selling fentanyl to customers at multiple locations in Cleveland, and that Branea Bryant was involved in the drug trafficking conspiracy.

On August 31, 2021, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies executed search warrants at seven houses connected to the drug organization, and seized over a kilogram of fentanyl, numerous firearms, ammunition, high-speed money counters, drug presses, a vacuum-sealer used to package drugs and money, over $68,000 in cash, jewelry, and multiple high-end vehicles, including two Range Rovers and a Jaguar F-Type.

Investigation by the IRS showed that Branea Bryant’s company, ADF3 Investments, owned several high-end vehicles connected to the drug conspiracy, including two Range Rovers that had been purchased with drug money, and a Jaguar F-Type that was used to facilitate drug deals. At trial, the lead IRS investigator testified that ADF3 did not file any state or federal tax returns, and that it did not appear to engage in any kind of legitimate business activity. The IRS investigator also testified that ADF3’s bank accounts, which had been opened by Branea Bryant, were largely funded with cash deposits and that ADF3’s accounts had been used to make large purchases at designer stores like Gucci and Prada using Branea Bryant’s debit card.

Branea Bryant was one of 24 defendants indicted in the case, which was the result of a coordinated effort by the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). All 24 defendants, including Branea Bryant, were convicted.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Cartel, Gang, Narcotics, and Laundering Task Force (CGNL) and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Cleveland Division of Police, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio Investigative Unit, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Cleveland Heights Police Department, the Southeast Area Law Enforcement Task Force (SEALE), the ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service, the DEA, and the Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic Science Laboratory.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Lewis, Joseph Dangelo, and James Morford.

This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.