A Fresno man has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for his role in a scheme to distribute large amounts of opioid pills, Acting U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez announced today. Kelo White, 44, was convicted of distributing more than 250,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills obtained through fraudulent prescriptions between 2014 and 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
White worked with Donald Ray Pierre, 56, and pharmacist Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, who filled prescriptions forged with the signatures of more than ten doctors at his Madera pharmacy. White was linked to about half of the more than 450,000 pills tied to these prescriptions. White and Pierre then sold the pills for profit. Pierre was sentenced to more than nine years in prison in July 2020, and Ntukogu received a seven-year and three-month sentence in November 2024, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office reported that the trio worked to avoid detection, with Ntukogu discarding certain prescriptions and only taking cash payments. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and California Department of Health Care Services investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Antonio Pataca and Joseph Barton handled the prosecution. The case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge, which focus on disrupting criminal organizations and limiting synthetic opioid distribution.
