SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Omar Perez-Ochoa, age 31, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was found guilty of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, and John Radermacher, age 41, of Couderay, Wisconsin, was found guilty of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, as a result of a federal jury trial in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on October 21, 2022.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in custody and/or a $10 million fine, five years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund to be paid by Perez-Ochoa, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund to be paid by Radermacher.
Perez-Ochoa and Radermacher were indicted by a federal grand jury in September of 2022.
Both Perez-Ochoa and Radermacher were involved in a large-scale methamphetamine distribution organization operating out of Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas. This organization was responsible for receiving and distributing multiple pounds of methamphetamine in South Dakota and elsewhere.
Radermacher obtained multiple pounds of methamphetamine from Canbie Thompson on multiple occasions and then returned to Wisconsin with that methamphetamine to further this drug conspiracy. Radermacher and Thompson originally met in federal prison, while both were serving federal sentences for drug distribution.
Perez-Ochoa was involved with this methamphetamine conspiracy by becoming a drop location for multiple pounds of methamphetamine, along with multiple payments of thousands of dollars for methamphetamine, to ultimately be wired or otherwise transferred down to Mexican sources.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Ebert prosecuted the case.
Presentence investigations were ordered and sentencing dates will be set in the near future. The defendants were both remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.