Los Angeles, California Man Sentenced to Over 23 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons 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 Commit Money Laundering. The sentencing took place on April 6, 2026.

Dejuan Croom, 43, was sentenced to 23 years and 3 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Croom was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering by a federal grand jury in October 2024. He pleaded guilty on January 12, 2026.

From late 2023 to September 2024, Croom was a member of a California and Nevada-based drug trafficking organization which transported large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl from California to South Dakota, ultimately distributing the drugs in the Sioux Falls area. The organization shipped packages of drugs through the U.S. mail and utilized rental vehicles to drive the drugs - typically stored in hidden compartments - to South Dakota. The organization started out using local hotels as bases for their distribution operations and later shifted to short-term rental properties. Croom served in a managerial role for the organization, under the direction of the group's leader, Quantiae Harris. Croom drove drug-laden rental vehicles from California to Sioux Falls, assisted in selling the drugs to the group's local sub-distributors, and deposited large quantities of the drug proceeds in Harris' bank accounts at his behest.

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 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 Minneapolis comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, ATF, USMS, USPIS, SD DCI, SFPD, MCSO, and SDHP with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota.

This case was investigated by the DEA, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, the Sioux Falls Police Department, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

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