A 74-year-old Texas woman who ran a large interstate fentanyl operation received probation instead of prison time in federal court on Monday.
Patricia Parker, an Austin native now living in Massachusetts, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose on Nov. 25. The judge sentenced her to two years of probation, including nine months of home confinement.
Parker pleaded guilty on May 15, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of more than 310 grams of the drug — an amount equal to roughly 150,000 lethal doses, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Federal investigators say Parker’s trafficking activity was extensive. The probe began in May 2022 after she sold counterfeit amphetamine pills laced with fentanyl to an undercover FDA agent. Nearly a year later, agents executed a search warrant at her home and seized more than 18,000 pills, including fentanyl-contaminated counterfeits and other Schedule II and Schedule IV substances not approved by the FDA.
Shipping records uncovered during the investigation showed Parker mailed over 1,000 parcels suspected of carrying illegal drugs to buyers across the country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly Jr. prosecuted the case.
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