Ryan David Burchard aka CaliConnect aka Trademarked Vendor Alias This particular case (1:16-cr-00051-LJO-SKO) stuck out to me when I first read the affidavit back in 2015. The investigator Matthew Larsen was very detailed in his write up of the investigation leading to Burchard's arrest. Larsen is also the same investigator that took down the HumboltFarms DTO. A parallel I drew between both cases is that the investigation began when both suspects transmitted millions of dollars' worth of BTC to an unlicensed money transmitter in California. As I work on a more formal method of delivering this information (website) I wanted to share with you a more specific update on what has happened to Burchard since the time of his arrest. His PACER case records are quite extensive compared to other cases I have followed in the past. I plan to do a full and formal case study on Burchard and the investigative methods used to catch him.
Original Charges Burchard was originally charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Cocaine (21 US Code § 846); Distribution of Marijuana and Cocaine [3 counts - 21 US Code § 841 (a)(1) & (b)(1)(C)]; Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud (18 US Code § 1341); Money Laundering (11 counts - 18 US Code § 1957); Causing or Attempting to Cause a Non-Financial Trade or Business to Fail to File a Form 8300 [3 counts - 31 US Code § 5324(b)(1) & (d)(2)] along with criminal forfeiture allegations.
Detention Order (03/30/2016) Like I said this would be kind of a brief overview of Burchard's timeline; however, this document has some interesting info. In summary, a detention order is issued by a Magistrate and lays out the reasons for why the defendant should be held in jail before their court date. In Burchard's case, the things keeping him in jail were:
*Nature and Circumstance of the offense charged (drugs)
*The weight of evidence against the defendant is high
*The history of the defendant (no steady employment, no known financial resources, continued sales after search warrant, prior record of failure to appear in court)
Order Setting Conditions of Limited Release (04/14/2016) Burchard was released on a personal recognizance bond for a day to attend a funeral.
Appearance and Compliance Bond (05/15/2016) Another personal recognizance bond was issued for Burchard. Burchard agrees to normal pretrial bond requirements including location monitoring and curfew from 9:00pm to 6:00am.
Pretrial Services Violation Petition (07/20/2017) I guess the stress of the trial was too much for Burchard. On June 19 and 30, 2017, Burchard submitted urine samples which were confirmed positive for the presence of morphine and hydromorphone. The next day the court decided to change his pretrial agreement to full home detention with a drug/alcohol detecting ankle bracelet.
Plea Agreement (08/01/2017) Out of all the charges I previously mentioned that he was charged with the only one that stuck was Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance [21 US Code 846 and 841(a)(1) & (b)(1)(C)]
Forfeiture
*2009 Mercedes S63
*2010 Jaguar XJ
*2007 Chevrolet Tahoe (which his girlfriend had been paying installments for but had gone default since there arrest. The court return the vehicle to the original financial company).
*$1,430,000.00 in cash (the original sum of money that started this whole investigation when he used an unlicensed exchange)
*Anything and everything related to his drug dealing
*Computer equipment including a backup drive which I infer to be his cold storage as they did not specifically mention he had to fork up any BTC. Most of the cases that I have read the forfeiture section requires the defendant to give up an agreed upon BTC amount.
In addition, to all the assets forfeited Burchard's crime carries an additional $1,000,000.00 fine to paid over the course of his life to the United States Government.
Sentencing Burchard will begin serving 6 years 8 months starting on or around this April. Interestingly enough BTH-Overdose (heroin and fentanyl dealer) was sentenced by the same judge on the same day for 8 months less.
Conclusion Thanks for taking the time to read this update. If you have any suggestions/comments/recommendations I would love to hear them below. I am planning on making this info and some case studies regarding DNM drug trafficking more easily accessible very soon. In the meantime, stay smart and safe.
I wish you the best of luck. However, leeching off Gwern’s name is just silly to me. Build your own rep and don’t rely on others.