CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Lincoln County drug dealer pleaded guilty today to federal crimes associated with selling pain pills, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Timothy Scott Hallam, 34, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of his drug dealing.
Hallam admitted that from May 2012 through May 2014, he obtained oxycodone pills from Lester Taylor, who resided in Florida, for distribution in Lincoln County. After Hallam sold the pills in West Virginia, he and the other co-conspirators deposited the proceeds into Taylor’s bank accounts at various banks in Barboursville and Huntington. Once the money was deposited in West Virginia, Taylor and others would withdraw the money in Florida. Hallam admitted to depositing over $40,000 in drug proceeds as part of the conspiracy.
Taylor was previously sentenced in November 2015 to 10 years in federal prison. Hallam faces up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on July 6, 2016.
This case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is handling the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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