JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman who federal investigators said was the manager and supervisor of an armed drug trafficking organization was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice.
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The court also ordered her to forfeit $1.7 million, the proceeds of the drug trafficking conspiracy.
Yaquasia DelCarmen, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
DelCarmen handled the money for DTO, an organization that got between 200 and 800 pounds of marijuana from various grow operations in northern California that were then moved from various short-term rental homes throughout Jacksonville, primarily in the Riverside and San Marco neighborhoods. Investigators said DTO was led by DelCarmen’s boyfriend, Nathaniel Hatcher.
According to the DOJ, DelCarmen was responsible for collecting drug proceeds from the DTO’s various dealers and laundering the proceeds back into bank accounts controlled by her and Hatcher. During the conspiracy, investigators said that DelCarmen and others used sham business accounts that were formed to launder illicit proceeds. Hatcher and DelCarmen spent the drug proceeds on lavish lifestyle items, including luxury vehicles and rental homes, and vacations to Miami, Hawaii and California.
After federal agents arrested Hatcher in February, investigators said DelCarmen continued to carry out drug trafficking activities on Hatcher’s behalf while he was incarcerated. On Hatcher’s instructions, DelCarmen also posted the identity of a witness in the investigation publicly on social media with the intent of intimidating the witness and preventing their testimony, according to the DOJ.
In related court proceedings, DelCarmen’s co-conspirators pled guilty to their roles in the Hatcher DTO.
Desmond Maxwell pled guilty to straw-purchasing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and faces up to 25 years in federal prison. Al’Donta Easterling pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a minimum of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.
James Toney, Hatcher’s brother, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, a drive-by shooting in furtherance of a major drug offense and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He faces a minimum of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison.
Hatcher has been charged by indictment and is scheduled for trial next year.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.