Dealer of Fake Oxycodone Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Fentanyl Death
AUSTIN, Texas – A Cedar Park man was sentenced in a federal court in Austin last Friday to 20 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl causing death.
According to court documents, Jean Claude Meama-Kajue, 29, sold counterfeit Oxycodone containing fentanyl to a male subject in December 2020, coordinating the transaction over a social media app. Emergency Medical Service personnel found the victim unresponsive in his vehicle on Dec. 13, 2020. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be fentanyl toxicity. Investigators discovered records from a mobile banking app established a pattern of cash transactions between the two men, including a transaction the morning of the victim’s death.
As part of the investigation, an undercover officer made four separate Oxycodone controlled-buys from Meama-Kajue between February and April 2021. Laboratory analyses determined the tablets purchased in the investigation contained fentanyl.
“Jean Claude Meama-Kajue’s greed ended an unsuspecting victim’s life and took them away from their family and loved ones,” said Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the DEA Houston Division. “We hope this hefty sentence sends a strong message to anyone treating human lives as dollar bills. We will come after anyone supplying poison to innocent lives and bring them to justice. While we know this prison sentence doesn’t bring the victim back to their family, we hope it provides some closure.”
“Fentanyl continues to be a considerable threat to our communities, ending the lives of our neighbors, friends and loved ones who, in many cases, aren’t even aware they’re taking the drug” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “Thank you to our law enforcement partners for their work on this investigation, and I assure you we will continue to seek justice for fentanyl victims as long as this persists.”
The DEA and Pflugerville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Marshall prosecuted the case.