Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Maya McIntosh, age 33, of Albany, was sentenced on July 31, 2025, for conspiracies to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and controlled substance analogue, distribution and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and controlled substance analogue, and unlawful possession and use of a means of identification.
Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction, made the announcement.
McIntosh admitted in her prior guilty plea that beginning no later than January 2023 through July 2024, the defendant manufactured, distributed, and possessed with intent to distribute the substance MDMB-4en-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, and conspired to do so with others. More specifically, McIntosh ordered constituent chemicals, which were shipped to the residences of McIntosh and a coconspirator. McIntosh combined those chemicals in her residence to create MDMB-4en-PINACA in liquid form. McIntosh then sprayed and soaked the liquid onto copy paper and business envelopes. McIntosh placed those documents into U.S. Priority Mail Express envelopes addressed to inmates at various correctional facilities in New York State. McIntosh disguised the envelopes as legal mail by stamping the names of actual attorneys in the return address portion of the envelopes, without their knowledge or permission, to make it appear is if the parcels were sent by attorneys and contained legitimate legal paperwork instead of a controlled substance. McIntosh used social media to sell the sheets and envelopes soaked in MDMB-4en-PINACA to others. McIntosh’s customers paid her to mail the MDMB-4en-PINACA-soaked papers to inmates at the facilities.
Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said, “Maya McIntosh endangered the health and safety of hardworking corrections officers and prison staff when she manufactured a synthetic drug and smuggled it into correctional facilities through the U.S. Mail. Now she will spend 8 years behind bars herself. I’m grateful for the collaboration between the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, New York City Department of Correction Special Investigation Unit, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York that achieved this result.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to dedicate the resources necessary to combat drug trafficking. McIntosh’s sentencing is a result of a coordinated effort to keep contraband out of the U.S. Mail and in this case, out of correctional facilities,” said Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division. “When the U.S. Mail is used to transport illegal drugs, it is taken very seriously. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service works diligently to preserve the integrity of the mail by investigating and bringing to justice, those who use it illegally.”
“Maya McIntosh utilized brazen and deceptive methods to ship and smuggle synthetic narcotics into New York State correctional facilities, endangering correctional employees and others exposed to these harmful substances. This sentence reflects the seriousness of her crimes,” said Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Buffalo. “I commend HSI Albany personnel and our partners with the USPIS, the New York City Department of Correction, and the Northern District of New York, for ensuring that Ms. McIntosh faces the consequences of her actions.”
“Maya McIntosh’s sentencing should stand as a warning to anyone seeking to introduce contraband into prisons and jails: we will find you and you will be punished,” said NYC Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie. “The violence and loss of life prevented by the vigilance of the dedicated DOC staff who identify and investigate the presence of illegal substances in our jails cannot be understated. I commend these staff, and partners at DOCCS, USDOJ, and the U.S. Postal Service, for this coordinated effort to successfully stem the tide of dangerous substances entering our jails.”
Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. also imposed a 3-year term of supervised release to follow McIntosh’s term of imprisonment and ordered her to forfeit more than $42,000 of proceeds of the offense.
This case was investigated by USPIS, HSI Buffalo Field Office, and the New York City Department of Correction Special Investigation Unit, with assistance from HSI New York Field Office, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Albany Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie prosecuted the case.