California duo charged with operating nationwide darknet drug trafficking operation, laundering cryptocurrency proceeds

Date: July 15, 2026

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Miami - A California duo accused of operating a darknet drug trafficking business that sold fentanyl and methamphetamine nationwide, including in South Florida, and laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency has been indicted by a Southern District of Florida grand jury.

According to court documents, Nicholas Aguilar and Jessica Marcolina, both of Los Angeles, allegedly operated vendor accounts under the moniker "HotGirlzClub" on multiple darknet marketplaces, where they conspired to distribute controlled substances - including fentanyl and methamphetamine - to customers throughout the U.S., including in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Aguilar and Marcolina also allegedly conspired to launder cryptocurrency proceeds from the drug sales through transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the funds.

It is alleged that from as early as 2020, continuing through the date of their arrest, the defendants were consistently shipping parcels containing controlled substances using the U.S. Mail. According to the complaint, in a seven-month period alone in 2025, law enforcement allegedly identified more than 500 shipped parcels believed to contain narcotics that were linked to the operation.

Searches of the defendants' residences in California revealed distribution quantities of suspected controlled substances, drug packaging materials, printed warning labels, U.S. Postal Service (USPS) shipping supplies, a label maker, heat and vacuum sealer, a food processor containing suspected narcotics residue, electronic devices, fraudulent identification documents bearing the names of identity theft victims, and firearms. Law enforcement also recovered warning inserts identical to those included in undercover purchases. The inserts cautioned customers about the risk of overdose, advising them to "be safe until you know your tolerance for the product," demonstrating the defendants' awareness of the dangers posed by the narcotics they allegedly distributed.

The search also revealed that Aguilar possessed two loaded handguns and a rifle and operated an illicit firearms manufacturing operation that produced ghost guns, suppressors, and firearm upper and lower receivers.

Aguilar and Marcolina are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face up to life imprisonment on the drug trafficking conspiracy count and up to 20 years' imprisonment on the money laundering conspiracy count.

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Florida Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Miles Aley of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division; Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division; and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation - Cyber Crimes Unit and the DEA Miami Counternarcotic Cyber Investigations Task Force, a multi-agency task force, including IRS Criminal Investigation, the DEA, FBI, USPIS, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the U.S. HSTF Miami comprises of agents and officers from IRS-CI, DEA, FBI, USIS, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern district of Florida.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.