Georgia Woman Sentenced in South Dakota Drug and Money Laundering Conspiracy

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Decatur, Georgia, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. The sentencing took place on June 3, 2024.

Julia Precious Ballansaw, 21, was sentenced on the count of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance to five years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was then sentenced on the count of Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments to five years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, each sentence to run concurrently with one another. She was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Ballansaw was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments by a federal grand jury in October of 2023. She pleaded guilty on March 14, 2024.

Ballansaw obtained methamphetamine from a co-conspirator in California and then transported it back to another co-conspirator in South Dakota in order for it to be further distributed. Ballansaw also obtained methamphetamine from another co-conspirator in South Dakota and distributed it to others within South Dakota. Additionally, Ballansaw and others conducted wire transfers at financial institutions of funds that were derived from the sale of controlled substances in South Dakota, in order to send the money to co-conspirators in California.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

Ballansaw was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.