Reading Man Sentenced For Role In Counterfeit Pill Operation
Sunday, November 17, 2024, 12:20 P.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BOSTON, MA.- A 31-year-old Reading, Massachusetts man will be spending the next decade in federal prison for his role in a large-scale counterfeit pill-pressing operation involving tens of thousands of pills containing deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine.
On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Charles Bates, 31, of Reading, Massachusetts, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorkin to 120 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for his August 2024, guilty plea of Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine.
Bates appeared in U.S. District Court in August 2024 and pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine and 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl.
Bates Observed Picking Up Orange Binding Agent
The guilty plea and sentence stem from an investigation that began in August 2022, when Bates ordered 50 kilograms of an orange binding agent commonly used to make counterfeit Adderall pills. Bates was observed by law enforcement officers picking up the package at a UPS store in Boston, Massachusetts.
During the time of the investigation, Bates exchanged text messages with drug customers and associates in which he spoke about pills that are “Made To Order” and described being physically present at the location where the pills were being manufactured and further “Watching The Guy Work So No Corners Have Been Cut.” In addition, Bates drafted recipes for counterfeit pills that he kept on his cellular phone or sent to others. The offense involved at least 136,000 counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, equal to about 40 kilograms of pills.
Bates Traveled To Pick Up New Pill Press
After a pill press broke, Bates traveled to Rhode Island to pick up a replacement. Bates was observed by law enforcement officers transporting a large, heavy item that appeared to be a pill press to codefendant Aaron Lenardis’ residence in Saugus. A subsequent court-authorized search of Lenardis’ residence on October 25, 2022, resulted in the seizure of an industrial pill press, 14 firearms, including a Glock fully outfitted to operate as a machinegun, at least 1.85 kilograms of pills and powder containing methamphetamine, at least 87.6 grams pills, and powder containing fentanyl, and “M30” stamps used to make counterfeit oxycodone pills.
In November 2024, Lenardis was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Lenardis is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston on February 12, 2025, for sentencing.
