Buffalo man pleads guilty to his role in narcotics conspiracy

Date: April 14, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Buffalo, NY - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Steven Hoskins of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $10,000,000.

According to the plea agreement, between December 2022 and November 2024, Hoskins conspired with others to coordinate the shipment of cocaine from California to Buffalo through the mail and through the use of secret compartments in vehicles that were transported across the country. Hoskins would obtain anywhere between five and 50 kilograms of cocaine a month, which he would sell and distribute in the Western District of New York. On three separate occasions in July, August and September 2023, Hoskins delivered drug proceeds totaling $439,840.00 to an individual he believed was a member of the drug trafficking organization but was in fact an individual working with law enforcement. Hoskins distributed over 450 kilograms of cocaine throughout this conspiracy.

This case 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 United States 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 United States. HSTF Buffalo/Rochester comprises agents and officers from HSI and the FBI with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett Fitzsimmons, Meghan E. Leydecker, and Elizabeth M. Palma. The plea is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry Chavis and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Field Division.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 21, 2026, before Judge Sinatra.

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.