Cincinnati man sentenced to 10 years in prison for fentanyl crime, money laundering

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man was sentenced in U.S. District today to 120 months in prison for crimes related to trafficking fentanyl and laundering the proceeds.

Nathaniel Williams, 45, possessed with the intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and committed money laundering.

According to court documents, in August 2023, Williams told an undercover agent that he had bulk amounts of cash from trafficking fentanyl and was looking for ways to transfer the money into the banking system.

Williams provided cash from his narcotics sales to the undercover agent, who then wired $15,120 of the funds into Williams’s bank account via a wire transfer. Williams withdrew $10,000 of the funds in cash a few days later.

On Oct. 18, 2023, agents discovered more than $44,000 in cash at Williams’s residence while executing a search warrant. Officials also recovered approximately 527 grams of fentanyl and fentanyl mixtures in a secret furniture compartment.

Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023 and pleaded guilty in March 2024.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Cincinnati Field Office; and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan is representing the United States in this case, which was investigated by IRS-CI and the Cincinnati Police Department Narcotics Unit.

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

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