Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Leader of Interstate Pill-Distribution Conspiracy Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – February 3, 2017. Benjamin Edward Henry Bradley, 33, of Detroit, Michigan, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison, for his role as the primary supplier of tens of thousands of diverted prescription pills that were shipped from the Detroit area into Middle Tennessee, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Bradley and 17 co-defendants were indicted on March 11, 2015, and charged with conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, Schedule II controlled substances, including Oxycodone and Oxymorphone. Bradley and two co-defendants were also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The charges stemmed from a multi-year investigation conducted by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. That investigation, which included the use of wiretap interceptions, revealed that Bradley, who worked at a hospital in Detroit, regularly bought up large quantities of diverted pills from a variety of sources, and sent them to Tennessee through the mail or by paying co-conspirators to deliver them. The conspirators then laundered the proceeds by making cash deposits in Tennessee into bank accounts controlled by Bradley in Detroit.
On June 8, 2016, Bradley pleaded guilty to both charges. At the sentencing hearing on February 1, 2017, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger found that Bradley was a leader of a drug-trafficking organization that dated back to 2009 and involved the distribution of tens of thousands of pills. Bradley’s 17-year prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
This extensive investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the IRS-Criminal Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the FBI; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; the Rutherford County, Tenn. Sheriff’s Dept.; the Smyrna, Tenn. Police Dept.; the Mt. Juliet, Tenn. Police Dept.; the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force; the Michigan State Police; the Brighton, Mich. Police Dept.; and the Clinton township, Mich. Police Dept. Assistant United States Attorneys Cecil VanDevender and Brent Hannafan prosecuted the case.
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