Source: US FBI
PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a man from Mobridge, South Dakota, who was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on August 5, 2025.
Eric Traversie, age 28, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Traversie was indicted for by a federal grand jury in February 2025. He pleaded guilty on April 30, 2025.
The conviction stemmed from a drug conspiracy that ran between April 2024 and February 2025 in which Traversie and other individuals conspired to distribute methamphetamine in and around the central South Dakota area, including within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. As part of the conspiracy, Traversie was involved in distributing between 1.5 and 5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Traversie was also involved in a traffic stop where law enforcement seized 237 grams of 99% pure methamphetamine.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the FBI, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, BIA, and Dewey County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
Traversie was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.