Portland Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl and Stealing Covid Relief Program Funds

PORTLAND, Ore.—A local man was sentenced to federal prison today for distributing counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in and around Portland and stealing federal funds intended to help small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yuriy Viktorovich Vasilchuk, 33, a Portland resident, was sentenced to 49 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $32,855 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

According to court documents, in early 2021, special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified Vasilchuk as a Portland area source of supply for counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. In December 2021, Vasilchuk was located in a stolen vehicle. He was arrested with 88 counterfeit Oxycodone pills and later released.

On May 3, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Vasilchuk with one count of possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl. Following his indictment, HSI special agents and probation officers from the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice (DCJ) attempted to arrest Vasilchuk who was again located in a stolen vehicle. As the probation officers approached Vasilchuk’s stolen vehicle, Vasilchuk sped off, nearly striking a nearby probation officer. After fleeing for several miles and causing multiple accidents, Vasilchuk’s vehicle became inoperable and he fled on foot. Soon after, investigators located Vasilchuk hiding in an abandoned RV and placed him under arrest.

Following his arrest, investigators obtained evidence that, between March and November of 2021, while he was actively distributing fentanyl, Vasilchuk applied to receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the SBA. In his applications, Vasilchuk falsely stated that he had not, within the past five years, been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony involving fraud, bribery, embezzlement, or making a false statement on a loan application. Based on the false information provided, the SBA disbursed more than $32,000 to Vasilchuk, which he in turn spent on various personal expenses.

On August 22, 2023, Vasilchuk was charged by criminal information with wire fraud. On March 11, 2024, he pleaded to one count each of wire fraud and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, resolving both of his criminal cases.

These cases were investigated by HSI, the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN), and the SBA Office of Inspector General with assistance from the Portland Police Bureau and DCJ. They were prosecuted by Cassady A. Adams and Rachel K. Sowray, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

WIN is a Washington County, Oregon-based multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force supported by the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program that includes members from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Beaverton and Hillsboro Police Departments, Oregon National Guard Counter Drug Program, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives.