Two Massachusetts men facing up to 20 years in prison for supplying thousands of fake pills after several kilos of pills and powder including fentanyl seized

Boston – Two men from Massachusetts have admitted guilt in Boston’s federal court for participating in a scheme to produce and sell fake pills laced with fentanyl and other drugs.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, Elmidio Crisostomo, 30, from Lynnfield, and David Depena, 32, from Lynn, each pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns has set their sentencing hearings for December 10, 2025. The pair faced indictment by a federal grand jury in November 2023.

Crisostomo and Depena operated out of a Lynn apartment to create counterfeit tablets containing fentanyl and additional controlled drugs. They supplied thousands of these illicit pills to buyers in locations such as Malden and Revere. A June 2023 raid on the apartment uncovered a manual press for pill production, along with several kilograms of pills and powdered substances including fentanyl and other narcotics.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lynn Police Department and the Revere Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.