California duo accused of laundering crypto from fentanyl and meth sales

A California pair has been indicted on allegations of running a darknet drug operation that prosecutors say generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency proceeds from fentanyl and methamphetamine sales.

According to a Wednesday statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Nicholas Aguilar and Jessica Marcolina allegedly operated vendor accounts under the name “HotGirlzClub” across multiple darknet marketplaces and shipped more than 500 drug parcels across the United States during a seven-month period in 2025.

Federal prosecutors allege the pair laundered proceeds from those sales through cryptocurrency transactions intended to hide the origin of the funds before law enforcement identified the operation.

Searches of the suspects California residence uncovered drug packaging materials, a food processor containing suspected narcotics residue, firearms, and warning labels advising customers to “be safe until you know your tolerance for the product,” the Justice Department said.

Investigators also accused Aguilar and Marcolina of operating an illegal firearms manufacturing operation that produced ghost guns, suppressors, and upper and lower firearm receivers.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to life in prison on drug trafficking conspiracy charges and up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the department.

Crypto remains part of anti-drug enforcement efforts

The indictment adds to a series of cases in which U.S. authorities have targeted cryptocurrency used to move or conceal proceeds from narcotics trafficking.

In May, the Treasury Department‘s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than a dozen individuals and entities that it said helped convert fentanyl cash proceeds into cryptocurrency on behalf of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

Earlier in March, a federal grand jury in Ohio indicted two Chinese pharmaceutical companies and six Chinese nationals on charges tied to trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals and laundering proceeds through cryptocurrency, according to federal prosecutors.

Law enforcement agencies outside the United States have also expanded their use of blockchain analytics in drug investigations. In April, South Korean authorities extradited alleged drug trafficking leader Park Wang-yeol from the Philippines, and investigators used blockchain forensics to trace at least 6.8 billion won (about $5 million) in Bitcoin-linked drug proceeds.

Authorities have also demonstrated that older crypto holdings linked to drug crimes remain within reach of investigators. In March, Ireland‘s Criminal Assets Bureau, with technical assistance from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, recovered access to and seized a wallet holding 500 Bitcoin that was tied to convicted drug dealer Clifton Collins after the assets had long been considered inaccessible.

The United States has also continued pursuing operators of crypto-enabled darknet marketplaces. In February, a federal court in New York sentenced the Taiwanese founder of the Incognito dark web marketplace to 30 years in prison after prosecutors said the platform facilitated illegal drug sales using cryptocurrency.