Two Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison for Manufacturing Counterfeit Pills Containing Fentanyl

BOSTON - Two Massachusetts men were sentenced in federal court in Boston for a conspiracy involving the distribution and manufacturing of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other controlled substances.

Elmidio Crisostomo, 30, of Lynnfield, was sentenced on June 10, 2026, by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 53 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. David Depena, 32, of Lynn, was sentenced on Dec. 10, 2025, by Judge Stearns to 53 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. On Sept. 9, 2025, Crisostomo and Depena both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. In November 2023, Crisostomo and Depena were indicted by a federal grand jury.

From late 2022 through June 2023, Crisostomo and Depena used an apartment in Lynn to manufacture thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, which they then distributed around Malden, Saugus and Revere. During a search of the Lynn apartment in June 2023, more than three kilograms of fentanyl and 500 grams of methamphetamine were recovered as well as a large hand-crank-style pill press.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lynn Police Department and the Revere Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.