SAN FRANCISCO—A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, February 9, after he was convicted of manufacturing counterfeit Xanax pills, officials said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, David Beckford, 28, of Oakland entered a guilty plea in November 2016 after he admitted to importing controlled substances from China and other foreign sources with the intention of making fake Xanax pills in northern California.
Beckford also admitted to wiring money to China to pay for drug-making materials, and was charged with engaging in international money laundering, and the possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicated. Investigators discovered that Beckford manufactured 161,474 counterfeit pills, which he planned to distribute.
“Mr. Beckford’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this crime. The defendant was the mastermind of this elaborate scheme. He found international suppliers through the internet and solicited others, including his girlfriend, to handle the wire transfer payments of funds to the overseas suppliers,” said Michael Batdorf, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation.
Two men died after taking fake Xanax pills in Santa Cruz, California, followed by 3 additional deaths in San Francisco in November 2015, investigators noted.
Beckford was charged alongside four co-defendants. Two co-defendants, Stephan Florida and Isaiah Clayton, were sentenced to 14 months and 36 months’ probation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicated. A third co-defendant has not been sentenced yet.
Beckford was also sentenced to a 3-year period of supervised release after his 10-year prison sentence.
