Texas man sentenced to 27 months for role in bath salts conspiracy, ordered to forfeit $750,000 in assets

SCRANTON, Pa. – A 40-year-old Texas man was sentenced Monday to serve 27 months in prison and ordered to forfeit his interest in more than $750,000 in assets for his role in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute alpha-pvp, commonly known as “bath salts.” The sentencing is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspectors, the Pennsylvania State Police, and West Pittston Police

Thanh Duc Tran, of Houston, Texas, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to distribute alpha-pvp to customers in at least 32 states, including Pennsylvania, over various web sites during 2011 through March 2014.

He was ordered to forfeit to the government his interest in a residence in Texas valued at approximately $300,000, coins valued at more than $260,000, four bank accounts containing over $200,000, two vehicles, over $7,000 in cash and more than $17,000 in uncashed money orders, and two firearms. Tran must also spend three years on supervised release following his prison sentence.