74-Year-Old Woman Sent 150,000 Fentanyl Doses in Mail to Fund Medications

A 74-year-old woman in Austin, Texas, distributed what amounted to 150,000 lethal doses of fentanyl through the mail as a “side hustle” to pay for her own medications.

Patricia Parker sent over 1,000 parcels suspected to contain illegal drugs, authorities said. The packages included counterfeit amphetamine pills laced with fentanyl, though Parker claimed she did not know they contained the synthetic opioid.

The scheme came to light in 2022 when Parker attempted to sell counterfeit amphetamines to an undercover FDA agent. Ten months later, agents raided her home and found 18,000 pills, including counterfeit Adderall, oxycodone, and diazepam, some stored in an ornamental tin.

Parker pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distributing over 310 grams of the drug, equal to 150,000 lethal doses. On November 25, she was sentenced to two years’ probation with nine months of home confinement.

Her lawyer stated in a sentencing memorandum that Parker had been purchasing her own medications from a man called “John” for years. After her real estate job suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she could no longer afford her medicine and agreed to distribute John’s drugs in exchange for her own, calling it a “side hustle.”

Parker acted as a “remailer,” breaking up large shipments of drugs into smaller packages for distribution. She later claimed she did not know she had sent fentanyl.

“I would NEVER have knowingly taken part in anything related to such a dangerous drug,” she wrote to a judge. “I should have inquired what it was, so that was my own doing. I see that in retrospect, but that fact haunts me to this day.”

Authorities countered that an “educated, adult woman” should have understood the risks of distributing counterfeit drugs.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island said the case involved a joint investigation by the FDA, the Office of Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

“Parker engaged in drug trafficking for an extended timeframe. Her activity was discovered during an investigation in May 2022 when she distributed counterfeit amphetamine pills containing fentanyl to an undercover FDA Special Agent. Ten months later, agents executed a search warrant at her residence and found over 18,000 pills, including Schedule II and IV controlled substances, all unapproved by the FDA, and counterfeit amphetamine pills containing fentanyl.”