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Crime May 22, 2023
| Photo by stockfilmstudio/Envato Elements
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A San Fernando Valley man and woman who allegedly used darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide have been indicted by a federal grand jury, officials announced last week.
Brian McDonald, 22, of Van Nuys — whose aliases include “Malachai Johnson” and “SouthSideOxy” — and Ciara Clutario, 22, of Burbank, were charged in an eight-count indictment filed Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Both defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, five counts of distribution of fentanyl and one count of distribution of cocaine. McDonald also is charged with one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, court papers show.
McDonald has been in federal custody since his arrest on May 4, and his arraignment is scheduled for May 25 in downtown Los Angeles. Clutario is expected to make her initial federal court appearance in the coming weeks.
According to the indictment, from at least April 2021 until this month, McDonald, Clutario and others conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via darknet marketplaces such as White House Market, ToRReZ and AlphaBay. McDonald, using aliases, created vendor profiles on these marketplaces to sell illegal drugs in exchange for cryptocurrency, the indictment alleges.
McDonald and Clutario allegedly monitored and maintained the darknet vendor profiles, including by updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders received online and offloading Monero cryptocurrency received as drug deal payments into cryptocurrency wallets that McDonald controlled, prosecutors said.
McDonald allegedly recruited and hired accomplices — including Clutario — to help with packaging and shipping the narcotics that they sold on the darknet. McDonald directed Clutario and other co-conspirators on how to package and ship the narcotics, and he assisted them in the packaging and shipping, the indictment alleges.
The indictment contends that in May 2021 — one week after McDonald created a darknet vendor profile for the purpose of selling illegal drugs — he texted Clutario to tell her that their darknet drug sales were doing well.
Later that month, McDonald allegedly texted a co-conspirator that he had just sold 20,000 pills to customers, according to court documents.
In June 2021, McDonald allegedly texted an accomplice that he had 34 drug orders he had to fill. The following month, in text messages to Clutario about the conspiracy’s goals, McDonald stated, “i’m really tryna make like 5 mil,” according to the indictment.
The proceeds from the drug sales — after being converted from cryptocurrency into cash — allegedly were stored by McDonald and Clutario at their respective residences. They shipped fentanyl and cocaine that were sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the indictment.
McDonald also allegedly possessed firearms, specifically two gold-plated handguns — one without a serial number — to protect his drug-trafficking business and the proceeds of drug sales made on darknet marketplaces, federal prosecutors said.
In convicted of all charges, McDonald and Clutario would face mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years and 10 years, respectively, in federal prison. Each defendant also would face up to life in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
