Seven Arrested for Multi-State Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Ring

COEUR D’ALENE - Seven people were arrested yesterday for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, and conspiracy to engage in money laundering, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  The multi-state drug trafficking ring included Loren Toelle, 51, Steven Wayne Jackson, 30, Sean Lee Jackson, 27, Robert Lamar Hill, 54, Kristin Rene Wilson, 28, all of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Also arrested for their involvement in the money laundering conspiracy were Sherlann Simon, 34, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, and Stanley Toelle, 61, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  The defendants were indicated by a federal grand jury on January 20, 2016, in Coeur d’Alene.  An eighth defendant, Jessica Nadine Frederick, 27, of Liberty Lake, Washington, remains a fugitive.

The indictment alleges that the organization has generated at least $1.3 million in drug proceeds since 2009.  In addition to a cash proceeds, the indictment also seeks to forfeit numerous pieces of real property, vehicles, and bank accounts that were used to facilitate the organizations drug trafficking or were obtained with the organization’s drug proceeds.  Loren Toelle, Steven Jackson, Sean Jackson, Robert Hill, and Jessica Frederick were also indicted on separate drug distribution charges relating to controlled purchases of heroin and/or oxycodone that law enforcement made from the individuals throughout the investigation.

On February 4, 2016, in a coordinated effort by state, local and federal law enforcement 18 search warrants were executed in Idaho, Nevada, and North Dakota. 

The charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin, oxycodone, and methamphetamine carries a mandatory minimum charge of at least 10 years and not more than life; a $10,000,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release.  Each charge of distribution of oxycodone and heroin is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release.  The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

“Prescription drug abuse, and the addiction to opiates and heroin, is a growing national problem and a growing Idaho problem,” said Olson. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners are prepared to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who distribute these dangerous drugs in our community.”

The charges are the result of a long-term investigation by the FBI North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force into the family organization that is responsible for distributing heroin, oxycodone, and methamphetamine in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Spokane, Washington, Las Vegas, Nevada, Missoula, Montana, and various areas of North Dakota, including Williston, Fargo, and the area in and around the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. 

The arrests and indictment are the result of a joint investigation and cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the FBI North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Post Falls Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Marshal Service and Department of Homeland Security.  Other agencies involved include the Williston, North Dakota Police Department, Divide County Sheriff’s Office K9s, the United States Attorney’s Offices in Las Vegas, Nevada and North Dakota, the FBI in North Dakota, Williams County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol, Williston Police Department, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Northwest Narcotics Task Force, the Washington State Patrol, the U.S. Marshal Service in Las Vegas, IRS-CI in Las Vegas, and the DEA in Las Vegas.

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.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.