ALBANY, N.Y. – A 33-year-old Albany woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to mailing drug-soaked documents to inmates in multiple New York correctional facilities, federal prosecutors announced.
Authorities say Maya McIntosh sold the illicit papers through social media, disguising them as legal paperwork to bypass prison security.
McIntosh admitted to conspiracies to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and controlled substance analogues, in addition to unlawful possession and use of a means of identification, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Synthetic Drug-Soaked Paper Disguised as Legal Mail
Prosecutors revealed that McIntosh obtained chemicals to produce MDMB-4en-PINACA, a potent synthetic cannabinoid, in liquid form. She then sprayed or soaked the liquid onto copy paper and business envelopes.
McIntosh allegedly placed the drug-laced papers into U.S. Priority Mail Express envelopes, addressing them to inmates at various New York correctional facilities. To make the shipments appear legitimate, she fraudulently stamped the names of real attorneys on the return addresses—without their consent—so that prison officials would assume the packages contained legal paperwork.
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Social Media Sales and Prison Drug Smuggling
According to federal prosecutors, McIntosh used social media platforms to market and sell the drug-soaked sheets and envelopes. Customers would pay her to send these disguised documents to incarcerated individuals, further fueling an underground pipeline of synthetic drugs in correctional institutions.
Authorities estimate McIntosh operated the scheme from January 2023 through July 2024.
Potential Sentencing and Ongoing Investigation
McIntosh now faces severe federal penalties:
- Up to 20 years in prison per count
- A maximum fine of $1 million on the drug-related charges
- A $250,000 fine on identity fraud charges
- Supervised release of at least three years, up to life
The case remains under investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations.
