Lynnwood, Washington, man sentenced to 30 months in prison for tech support of dark web drug dealing

Seattle – A 39-year-old Lynnwood, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jonathan E. Williams handled the technology side of the darknet drug dealing operation while co-defendants Linus Lee and Joyce Oldrich were involved in packaging and mailing packets of LSD and MDMA. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart noted that "MDMA, in the court's experience, is specifically marketed to young people," -- the drugs could end up in the hands of vulnerable people. 

“Mr. Williams used his computer skills to make dangerous drugs available to anyone with a computer,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “He may have physically kept his hands off the drugs but, using his computer keyboard, he enriched himself while putting others at risk.”

According to records filed in the case, the three defendants in this case were indicted in July 2022, following an investigation by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service of dark web drug dealing. Working on the dark web, investigators placed online orders for drugs. Based on the packages they received, investigators first identified 70-year-old Joyce Oldrich of Marysville, Washington as the person who had mailed the drugs. Tracking Oldrich, investigators identified 51-year-old Linus Lee of Shoreline, Washington. When law enforcement served a search warrant on Lee’s home, they seized more than 5,000 tabs of LSD, and more than four kilos of MDMA. Some of the drugs were already in parcels ready for mailing.

Information on Lee’s and Oldrich’s cell phones led investigators to Williams. In various encrypted messages, Lee and Williams discussed the market price for their drugs. When Williams’ residence was searched, law enforcement found no drugs, but linked $21,000 in cash to his drug selling activity. On Williams’ phone, they found evidence of his role managing the drug business on the dark web.

Both Lee and Williams have now been sentenced to 30 months in prison with three years of supervised release to follow. Oldrich was sentenced to a time served sentence, with three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yunah Chung.