Date: May 17, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Johnstown, PA — A resident of Allport, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics, firearms, and money laundering laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Alexis Brolin, Jr. pleaded guilty before United States Senior District Judge Kim R. Gibson to Counts Two through Five of the Superseding Indictment. In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around July 2019 to in and around April 2020 in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Brolin conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Brolin, who directed the drug trafficking organization’s activity in Clearfield and surrounding areas, was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining kilogram quantities of methamphetamine that he distributed to others, and was arrested in possession of more than 650 grams of methamphetamine destined for Clearfield during an April 2020 interdiction stop. Through the execution of a search warrant at Brolin’s residence on the day of his arrest, law enforcement agents seized additional quantities of methamphetamine as well as 11 firearms and ammunition, including five shotguns, two rifles, an AK-style rifle, and three pistols, with numerous of the firearms not having serial numbers. Under federal law, Brolin was prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition based on an earlier felony conviction for robbery, with Brolin also pleading guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime. Additionally, from in and around July 2019 to June 2020, Brolin conspired to commit money laundering by having various distributors pre-pay him for the drugs he was to provide them through money wires to and from various locations within Western Pennsylvania. Judge Gibson scheduled sentencing for September 20, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant. Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Brolin. Additional agencies participating in this investigation included the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Millcreek Police Department, Erie Bureau of Police, and other local law enforcement agencies. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
