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Sean D. Reyes
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Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization in Utah Sentenced to Life in Prison

October 15, 2020

This morning, the leader of a multi-million dollar drug trafficking organization in Utah was sentenced to life in prison.

Aaron Shamo was previously convicted in 2019 for organizing and directing a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl from China to manufacture fake oxycodone pills and counterfeit Xanax tablets out of his home in Utah. Shamo and his co-conspirators shipped hundreds of thousands of these counterfeit drugs across the nation under the name Pharma-Master on the dark web until his arrest in 2016.

“In 2016, Shamo sold one million Fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills to unsuspecting buyers in every state in the union,” Attorney General Sean D. Reyes said. “While the total harm he caused can never be measured, at least ninety of his known customers have died from overdoses. The Court’s sentence today—life imprisonment—brings justice to the families of his deceased customers and everyone else affected by his crimes. The Attorney General’s Office extends its deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased, recognizing that not even a just sentence can restore what was lost. We remain fully engaged in our effort to combat the opioid epidemic by aggressively investigating and prosecuting drug dealers who prey on the addicted.”

Read the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Utah here.