Former Medical Student Sentenced for Fatal Party Drug Overdose

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Ontario, Canada, man was sentenced today to one year in prison for distributing MDA—a psychedelic drug similar to MDMA, or “molly”—that resulted in the fatal overdose of a 21-year-old Falls Church woman.

According to court documents, Saad Jalal, 28, was a Canadian medical student doing a clinical rotation in the District of Columbia when he met the victim and her roommates out at a bar. A few weeks later, Jalal and the women made plans to go out together again and Jalal offered to obtain some MDMA for the women from a supplier he knew in Maryland. Jalal obtained what he believed was MDMA, but was actually MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine), a Schedule I controlled substance of similar chemical structure.

On the night of September 19, 2019, after Jalal obtained the MDA from his connection, he went to the residence of the victim and her roommates in Falls Church. The roommates and Jalal then drove into the District of Columbia to pick up the victim from her workplace. Shortly thereafter, the victim consumed the MDA, became noticeably impaired, and eventually, her roommates and Jalal decided to take her back to her home in Falls Church. She suffered an overdose caused by the MDA that Jalal distributed and became unresponsive. The victim was later pronounced dead, and her death was ruled an accidental overdose caused by MDA intoxication.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rumbaugh prosecuted the case.

This matter was investigated by FBI WFO's Health Care Fraud squad and the Northern Virginia Safe Streets HiDta Task Force. These squads are focused on reducing the illegal flow of opioids, to include fentanyl, which is adversely impacting our communities. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-261.