Member of Multi-State Fentanyl Trafficking Ring Sentenced to Prison

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A Wheeling, West Virginia man, who was selling blue fentanyl pills in the Ohio Valley, was sentenced today, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Matthew Clemont, 33, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Clemont worked with others in a drug trafficking operation in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Clemont was one of 13 distributors in the drug trafficking operation that spanned from Las Vegas, Nevada, to the Ohio Valley.

"Clemont was one of several individuals who worked together to distribute deadly pills disguised as legitimate prescription medication in our communities," said U.S. Attorney Matthew Harvey. "Our message is simple: anyone who traffics fentanyl will face swift and serious consequences in the Northern District of West Virginia."

Of the 13 defendants in the case, 9 have been convicted. Two have been sentenced, with the others pending.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Nogay prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, Marshall County Drug Task Force, and the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug Task Force, all HIDTA-funded initiatives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; West Virginia State Police; Wheeling Police Department; Ohio County Sheriff's Office; and the Belmont County Sheriff's Office investigated.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.

Find the related press release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-twenty-six-drug-trafficking