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Prosecutors say Benjamin Hunt caused a 17-year-old’s overdose death.
Drugs, firearms, and firearm-related components seized by investigators. Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office
A Fall River man was sentenced Friday to 23 years in federal prison for operating an online marketplace that trafficked fentanyl, other illegal drugs, and firearms and was linked to the death of a 17-year-old, authorities announced.
Benjamin Hunt, 27, used the messaging app Telegram from at least 2022 through 2024 to sell controlled substances and firearms, Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office said in a press release.
Investigators connected Hunt to the death of an out-of-state minor who died from an overdose in May 2023. Prosecutors said Hunt supplied the victim with fentanyl, MDMA, MDA, ketamine, and LSD.
As part of his guilty plea in December 2025, Hunt admitted the drugs he distributed to the minor, whose name is not being released, were the “but-for” cause of the teen’s death, according to Foley’s office.
“Today’s sentence holds Benjamin Hunt accountable for a crime that ended a young life and forever changed a family,” Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, of New England Field Division, said in the statement. “Drug traffickers who distribute dangerous substances without regard for human life are fueling a public safety crisis in communities across Massachusetts and the nation.”
Through his online marketplace, Hunt sold cocaine, LSD, MDMA, ketamine, and counterfeit pharmaceutical pills made to resemble oxycodone but containing fentanyl, according to the criminal complaint.
Authorities said Hunt also sold “ghost guns” and machine gun conversion devices, commonly known as “switches,” through his Telegram marketplace. Some of those devices were manufactured through 3-D printing technology.
Customers generally paid through Bitcoin transactions and, in some instances, Cash App in an effort to conceal their identities, court records state.
The investigation into Hunt’s operation included undercover purchases, package interceptions, and uncovering Telegram messages.
Investigators reviewed Telegram messages between Hunt and the teen and identified multiple drug transactions between them. The messages showed the two communicated in the hours before the victim’s death, including discussions about the victim’s consumption of drugs supplied by Hunt, according to the criminal complaint.
In the sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said Hunt knew the victim struggled with substance abuse. In one message, the minor asked Hunt to hold off on mailing drugs as he “thought he would die” — but Hunt still shipped drugs to the teen, prosecutors wrote.
“This case is a stark reminder that drug dealers are no longer just on street corners,” Foley said. “They are online preying on our children via phones and computers and pushing highly addictive and deadly drugs.”
In three separate undercover transactions in February, May, and June 2024, Hunt sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to an undercover law enforcement officer. Some of those sales involved more than 40 grams of fentanyl, according to Foley’s office.
In one of those transactions, Hunt, who was not licensed to sell firearms, also sold a privately made Glock-style firearm, multiple machine gun conversion devices, an extended magazine and 3-D printed brass knuckles, according to court records.
Investigators recovered firearms and firearm-related components, including some made from 3-D printing technology. – Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office
In August 2024, Hunt mailed a package containing approximately 1,600 fentanyl pills to an undercover law enforcement officer, prosecutors said.
Another package sent by Hunt contained a “smoke grenade” that was turned over to the Massachusetts State Police bomb squad, according to court documents. The device was determined to be a live smoke grenade containing an explosive fuse and chemical filler designed to create colored smoke.
In another interception, investigators used surveillance footage to track Hunt’s movements and identify packages he shipped through the mail.
Authorities recovered approximately 61 grams of suspected MDMA and nearly 66 grams of suspected ketamine that had been concealed within multiple layers of envelopes and packaging materials, according to court records.
Federal agents later executed a search warrant at Hunt’s residence and discovered large quantities of drugs, firearms, and firearm-related equipment. In total, authorities seized approximately 95 firearms and related items, records show.
Prosecutors described the scale of Hunt’s drug inventory as “staggering.”
“Whether it was street drugs like cocaine or prescription drugs like Xanax, Hunt had it available in bulk,” the sentencing memorandum states.
Drugs, believing to have contained fentanyl, were recovered from a package that was intercepted by investigators. – Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office
Hunt was arrested in August 2024 and later pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl, MDMA, MDA, ketamine, and LSD resulting in death, according to Foley’s office.
He also pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl; two counts of unlawful transfer and possession of a machine gun; and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and cocaine.
Hunt will serve 23 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, according to the sentencing agreement.
Thomas Greco, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Boston Field Division, said the sentence should send a message to others involved in trafficking fentanyl and illegal firearm conversion devices.
“Today’s sentence not only imposes a measure of justice but should serve to remind anyone considering selling fentanyl or machinegun conversion devices: You are responsible for the consequences of those actions,” Greco said.
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