Holly Adams, a 35-year-old from Palm Desert, has been handed a 12-year sentence for her role in a fentanyl distribution operation that thrived on the dark web. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Adams, alongside Devlin Hosner, made substantial profits vending counterfeit oxycodone pills that were laced with fentanyl. Officials unveiled a scheme where the pair, with the aid of cryptographic technologies, laundered money with an array of digital tactics.
Adams and Hosner didn't halt their illicit trade even after a run-in with the law in September 2021. While at an address under a search warrant by state law enforcement, an attempt was made by Hosner to block officers' entry while Adams was quickly dissolving pills in a chemical solution. Having slipped through state custody, they returned to their shadowy online activities until federal agents stepped in, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The duo's dark web commerce came to a shuddering stop in March 2022 when a federal task force seized nearly a kilogram of the deadly oxycodone-fentanyl combination and a stash of methamphetamine from a hotel room where the two were staying in Riverside County. These actions were led by the Northern California Illicit Digital Economy Task Force, a collective that includes members from several federal agencies, focused on dismantling dark web criminality, as obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
With Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki at the legal helm, the case against Adams has reached its conclusion. Meanwhile, her accomplice Hosner awaits his fate with his upcoming court proceedings set for August 19, 2025. Found with drugs in a hotel room, Hosner’s charges mirror those of Adams and he remains in detention, as per information released by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez, who imposed Adams' sentence, will also preside over Hosner's case.
