BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo man pleaded guilty Monday to a number of charges, including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute over 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
Between 2013 and August 2021, the defendant, 65-year-old Lairon Graham, coerced four victims to engage in commercial sex acts by providing them with crack cocaine or heroin.
Graham also used threats and physical violence to get the victim to engage in commercial sexual activity. He brutally beat one victim on a near-daily basis.
Additionally, between 2020 and 2021, Graham organized and led a drug conspiracy out of a home on Swinburn Street in Buffalo. From the home, Graham sold cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.
In Spring 2021, Graham moved his operation into a Liddell Street home.
Between January and August 2021, Graham lived on Davey Street in Buffalo, where a search warrant was later executed by investigators.
The warrant turned up 43 grams of fentanyl, 37 grams of crack cocaine, $2,500 in cash, and assorted drug paraphernalia. Graham also used the Davey Street home to sell drugs.
Graham will face a penalty of 15 years to life in prison, along with a $20,000,000 fine during his sentencing on Sept. 11, 2023.
“This defendant not only sold dangerous and illegal drugs in our community, he used the addiction of vulnerable women to prey upon them and force them to commit sex acts for his financial benefit” stated U.S. Attorney Ross. “We as a society cannot, and will not, tolerate this type of criminal activity. With the work of our law enforcement partners, we have convicted this defendant, along with others who’ve engaged in this reprehensible behavior, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute anyone who commits these offenses in our community.”
