Lubbock, TX – A former Texas Tech marketing and supply chain professor pled guilty today for his leadership role in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
Daniel Taylor, 51, of Lubbock, Texas, was charged in February 2026 with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. On July 1, 2026, he pled guilty to conspiring to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. During the entire scope of the conspiracy, Taylor was employed as an assistant professor of marketing and supply chain management at the Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business. He admitted in court documents that his educational background and expertise in supply chain management helped to further or advance his fentanyl distribution network.
“This defendant exploited the knowledge and credibility he gained as a university professor to build a fentanyl trafficking operation that put lives at risk throughout the Lubbock community,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph B. Tucker of the DEA Dallas Field Division. “DEA and our law enforcement partners remain committed to identifying and dismantling the criminal networks responsible for distributing fentanyl, and we will continue pursuing those who profit from this deadly poison.”…