Overview
- Federal and local authorities arrested Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas on charges including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death.
- Prosecutors allege the group sold thousands of counterfeit opioid pills, including “M30” tablets laced with fentanyl, to teens and young adults using Instagram, TikTok and encrypted messaging.
- Court filings link the defendants to three fatal overdoses of 19-year-olds in spring and summer 2023, including Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez and Akira Stein, daughter of musician Chris Stein.
- The indictment details delivery methods and warnings, including pills sent in a USPS envelope and messages cautioning a buyer about the strength of the drugs before the July 2023 deaths.
- The New York City medical examiner ruled De Niro-Rodriguez’s death accidental from fentanyl combined with benzodiazepines, ketamine and cocaine, and a previously charged defendant, Sophia Haley Marks, remains a separate case connected to the same events.