Utica Man Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Drug Conspiracy

DOJ Press

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Frank Hunter, 37, of Utica, New York, was sentenced yesterday to serve 121 months in federal prison for his role in a drug conspiracy that trafficked cocaine, fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl in Utica from July 2018 through July 2019, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara, Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen, and Chief Mark Williams, Utica Police Department.

The multi-agency investigation began in March of 2017 and culminated in the federal arrest of Frank Hunter on July 23, 2019, following the execution of several search warrants in Utica where drugs, cash, and other evidence was seized.

In addition to his prison sentence, Frank Hunter was also sentenced to a post-incarceration term of supervised release of 5-years. The Court also directed the forfeiture of unrecovered assets Hunter acquired through the distribution of drugs consisting of a money judgment in the amount of $518,080.00.

Also forfeited by Frank Hunter were:


$3,241.57 from a credit union account


$5,266.59 from a credit union account

$6,722.07 from a credit union account

$8,226.53 from a credit union account

$4,415.24 from a credit union account

$66,060.00 in U.S. currency

$36,005.00 in U.S. currency

$4,391.00 in U.S. currency

$4,100.00 in money orders

A 2011 Ford Explorer SUV

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by New York State Police-Special Investigations Unit (NYSP-SIU),  Investigators from the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, members of the City of Utica Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Beaty, Special Assistant U.S Attorney Grant Garramone, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Southwick.

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