H.B. man pleads not guilty to fentanyl distribution; authorities allege he fled to Thailand before recapture

A Huntington Beach man faces federal charges for his alleged involvement in an extensive opioid distribution scheme that, according to prosecutors, shipped roughly 2.6 million pills containing fentanyl across the country.

Damon Vincent Jobin, 34, of Huntington Beach pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine — and one count of money laundering in U.S. District Court in South Dakota, records show.

A federal grand jury in South Dakota originally indicted him on those charges on Oct. 23, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to prosecutors, Jobin used the dark web — a part of the internet that requires specific software to access — to send approximately 100,000 pills containing fentanyl or a derivative of the drug to opioid distributors in three South Dakota cities. Investigators seized 20,000 of those pills that were sent through the mail, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors allege that, in all, Jobin mailed approximately 200 packages loaded with about 2.6 million pills — roughly 570 pounds of fentanyl-containing product — to addresses in 32 states.

Jobin also is accused of laundering more than $130,000 that was converted from Bitcoin proceeds he received for pressing and shipping the pills.

Jobin was arrested in Los Angeles on Nov. 29. He was later released on $25,000 bond and ordered to appear for arraignment at the District Court in South Dakota in February, prosecutors said.

Before then, however, authorities say Jobin fled the country. He was apprehended on June 7 by authorities in Thailand and transported to Seattle, where U.S. Marshals arrested him on July 15, court records show.

The Costa Mesa Police Department assisted in the investigation along with law enforcement in South Dakota and various federal agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation Western Cyber Crimes Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Between late 2018 and early this year, Costa Mesa police identified and arrested four individuals who were suspected of distributing or receiving pills from Jobin in the area of Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach, according to department spokeswoman Roxi Fyad.

“We are proud of the work and efforts our officers continuously put towards these types of crimes, which directly affect our community and the nation,” said Costa Mesa Police Capt. Bryan Glass, in a statement Wednesday.

If convicted as charged, Jobin faces a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence and a potential maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as a $10-million fine, according to prosecutors. A court date has not yet been set.

Jobin’s attorney did not return a request for comment Thursday.

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