Minnesota Man Sentenced For Causing Deaths of 11 People

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St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Twin Cities man has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the deaths of 11 people across the United States.

According to the US Attorney for Minnesota, 31-year-old Aaron Broussard of Hopkins operated an online business called PlanetFoodUSA.net and sold deadly doses of fentanyl to unsuspecting customers who believed they were purchasing a supplement similar to Adderall. 11 of his customers died as a result of overdoses of the synthetic opioid and four others suffered serious bodily injury. It was also alleged that Broussard never warned his customers even after he learned that several had been hospitalized and nearly died.

“Let today’s sentencing serve as a wakeup call to the drug traffickers pushing fentanyl in and around our communities,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King said. “A mere two milligrams of fentanyl, equivalent in size to a few grains of salt, is enough to potentially kill a person. The threat of fentanyl is real, and the traffickers pushing this deadly substance will be held accountable for the lives they’ve taken, the families they’ve hurt and the communities they’ve devastated.”

Prosecutors presented evidence at his trial that Broussard obtained Fenton all and other controlled substances from China-based suppliers and conspired with them to smuggle the drugs into the US. He was convicted of 17 federal charges, including distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.