DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of South Dakota

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Alison J. Ramsdell
, United States Attorney

California Man Sentenced to 15 Years in South Dakota Meth and Money Conspiracy

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Los Angeles, California, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. The sentencing took place on February 6, 2023.

Daniel Fiero Navarrette, 54, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Navarrette was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments by a federal grand jury in September of 2022. He pleaded guilty on October 7, 2022.

In March of 2021, Navarrette reached an agreement to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine in the District of South Dakota.

During his involvement in the conspiracy, he reached an agreement to provide a co-conspirator in South Dakota with large amounts of methamphetamine, and also assisted his co-conspirator in meeting other individuals so that he could obtain multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine. As part of his conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in South Dakota, the defendant also engaged in Money Laundering.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, IRS Criminal Investigations, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

Navarrette was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

St. Paul Field Division