Waterloo Internet "Molly" Dealer Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug Conspiracy

A Waterloo man who imported MDMA (also known as “ecstasy” or “Molly”) he ordered through the internet pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Adam Lawin, age 23, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (also known as MDMA or “Molly”).

In a plea agreement, Lawin admitted that he obtained the MDMA by utilizing the highly encrypted drug trafficking marketplace website, Silk Road.  Lawin also admitted he insulated himself from detection by law enforcement by having the packages delivered to friends or acquaintances, and paying those individuals a nominal fee (either a small amount of MDMA or cash) for delivering the packages to him.  During a search of Lawin’s Waterloo residence on April 26, 2013, law enforcement seized over 1.3 kilograms of MDMA.  During earlier searches, officers had seized over 250 grams of MDMA destined for Lawin.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Lawin was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Lawin faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and at least 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Securities Investigations, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force. 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is No. CR13-2040-1-LRR.