GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Matthew Simon Grimm, 51, a citizen of the United Kingdom, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in an international drug trafficking and money laundering operation. The announcement was made by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Grimm previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import a controlled substance, four counts of importation of a controlled substance, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of his sentence, Grimm was also ordered to forfeit more than $28 million in cryptocurrency profits tied to the operation.
From 2015 until his arrest in 2022, Grimm operated a website selling synthetic drugs including synthetic cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, and analogues of methamphetamine. Prosecutors said Grimm shipped at least 44,000 orders of these substances into the United States. Customers paid primarily in cryptocurrency, which Grimm then laundered to conceal the proceeds of the scheme…