A Michigan man was sentenced in federal court for a conspiracy to import and sell illegal pharmaceuticals, including opioids, and to fund the operation of the scheme by fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 pandemic relief loan. Donald Nchamukong, 37, was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution. In March 2025, Nchamukong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, committing loan fraud and distributing controlled substances. Starting in 2019 and continuing to 2022, Nchamukong and co-conspirator, Doyal Kalita, conspired to distribute drugs to persons in the United States over the internet and using call centers in India.
Nchamukong used shell companies, including a purported dietary supplements company and an auto parts supplier, and associated bank and merchant accounts to process sales of illegal foreign drugs, including the Schedule IV opioid, tramadol. Nchamukong and Kalita also received shipments of tramadol from India and reshipped the drug to customers across the United States, including in Massachusetts. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Nchamukong and Kalita fraudulently obtained a $200,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan to fund their illegal drug scheme. In June 2024, Kalita was sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating the online drug distribution scheme, a technical support fraud scheme and related money laundering