A Crystal Lake man is sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison after using the dark web and Facebook to distribute methamphetamine.
A Crystal Lake, Illinois, man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison after admitting that he used the dark web and Facebook to distribute methamphetamine, authorities said.
James Ettleson, 39, pleaded guilty in 2025 to a federal charge of distributing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
In a plea agreement, Ettleson acknowledged that between September 2022 and May 2024, he repeatedly ordered controlled substances through the mail via the dark web and then advertised those drugs for sale on Facebook to buyers, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
In one incident in April 2023, authorities say Ettleson arranged the order and sale of a package containing over 113 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a buyer.
At a hearing in Rockford federal court on February 9, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed a 100-month prison sentence more than eight years following the defendant’s guilty plea.
The case highlights law enforcement’s use of undercover operations and coordinated investigations to disrupt drug distribution networks that exploit both the dark web and mainstream social media platforms for illicit sales.
Reports are sourced from official documents, law-enforcement updates, and credible investigations.
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