top of page
Search

Fraternity Drug Trafficking Rings

  • Writer: Morgan McBride
    Morgan McBride
  • 2 days ago
  • 8 min read

Penn State and the College of Charleston. A decade apart, drug trafficking and drug distribution schemes continue to weave through American colleges and universities.




Drugs have historically been a hot commodity on college campuses nationwide. Investigations over the past decade have spotlighted the pervasive work of drug trafficking rings on or near college campuses, and their operations tend to involve fraternities. Today, there are over 1,500 Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities). As part of “Greek life” on college campuses, fraternities serve as social or professional organizations for male students, and they often prioritize brotherhood, tradition, legacy, and having a good time.


Controversy tends to surround the activities of fraternities, especially within the context of hazing and incidents of sexual assault. A concomitant factor of these scandals is the overwhelming presence of illicit drugs in and around many fraternities on college campuses.



Penn State - 2026


In August of 2026, two fraternities on Penn State University’s campus have been revealed to be at the center of a major cocaine trafficking bust. The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General indicated that cocaine was cut and packaged by the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses, and then it would be distributed among Penn State’s students.


Former students Agostino Abbatiello and Thomas Robinson were pinpointed as the primary suppliers of these drugs, as they often made trips from Philadelphia to New York for “large quantities of cocaine.” Thirteen of the fourteen individuals facing criminal charges for this drug ring attended Penn State around 2023 and 2024. Robert Zanolla, Mohammed Hurabi, Lars Zeepvat, Liam Smith, Michael Brogno, Kaden Howe, Connor Hurleigh, Seth Beardsley, Kyle Ridpath, Daniel Price, and Charles Wiseman are facing charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. However, Thomas Robinson’s father was also charged with concealing evidence and obstructing this investigation.




Pledges, people vying for spots within the fraternity, allegedly cut and packaged the cocaine as part of the hazing/indoctrination process for the fraternity. The investigation presents that the drug deals generally occurred at frat houses or social events associated with those involved. Drugs were being sold to other members of Greek life and mutual friends around campus.


When expanding beyond merely sourcing the drugs for him and his friends, Agostino Abbatiello shifted to selling drugs for profit, which ultimately transformed their enterprise. Looping in Lars Zeepvat and others, Abbatiello would give them an address, and they would drive to that location to pick up a bag of cocaine. From another angle, Mohammed Huraibi and Thomas Robinson began making sizeable purchases of cocaine directly from Abbatiello in 2023.


Prosecutors also allege that the suspects used their real names on apps like Snapchat and Venmo, which led to their being caught. For instance, court documents state that a confidential informant told authorities that “a male, using the nickname ‘T-Rob,’ was selling large amounts of cocaine from the Delta Upsilon Fraternity House.” The informant added that “T-Rob” accepted payments through a Venmo account under the name “Tom Robinson.” A database search then led the authorities to Thomas Robinson at the Delta Upsilon fraternity house.


After the police raided Thomas Robinson’s room at the fraternity house, he indicated that Abbatiello was his drug supplier, which led to the unraveling of the investigation. With the investigation ongoing, we must wait for more information on how these criminal and legal proceedings develop.


However, this is not new. Colleges and universities have had drug trafficking rings become prolific on their campuses over the years.



North Carolina Universities - 2020


In December of 2020, U.S. federal prosecutors charged 21 individuals, between the ages of 21 and 35, with running a cross-country drug ring through fraternities. Eleven of the accused attended school in North Carolina, including Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Appalachian State University. The investigation detailed the sale of a variety of drugs (cannabis, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, mushrooms, steroids, human growth hormones, and other street drugs) in fraternity houses on these campuses.




Official documentation indicated that a supplier in California shipped two kilos of cocaine and 200 pounds of marijuana weekly to North Carolina from March 2017 to March 2019. Furthermore, the alleged trafficking occurred via the U.S. Postal Service, as they sent payments by concealing vacuum-sealed cash inside household appliances like toasters. The operation ultimately funneled $1.5 million in profits through encrypted apps like Venmo and PayPal.


The drug ring’s primary supplier, Francisco Javier Ochoa, was ultimately sentenced to 73 months in prison, 5 years of supervised release, and an order to pay $250,000. Five others received charges for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute marijuana: Andrew Boylan Gaddy, Travis Michael Evans, Dane Lambert Simon, Brianha Nicole Haskell, Mariela Zavala Mendoza. Seven additional people were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine: Zachre Chasen Abercrombie, Amber Jana Johnson, John Frederick Holloway, Devin James McDonald, Jason Blake Nitsos, Devon Anthony Pickering, Edison Torres Robles, Jason Shuang Xu. Others got drug-related charges as well: Chandler David Anderson, Davis Lindsey Bayha, Kyle Parrish Beckner, Bernard Aleksander Bokowski, Charles Cleveau Poindexter, Jackson Alexander Norris, Christopher Antonio Reyes.


“I want to make it very clear: this is not a situation where you have casual users, where you have a 19-year-old sipping a beer, or you have someone taking a puff off a joint on the back porch of the fraternity house. These are 21 hardened drug dealers. This conspiracy moved thousands of pounds of marijuana over the course of several years, hundreds of kilos of cocaine.” — Matthew Martin, the U.S. attorney in Greensboro (as of December 2020)

In the aftermath of this investigation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suspended its chapters of Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma, and Beta Theta Pi, as they were involved in the drug ring. As of 2026, all three fraternities have returned to active status on UNC’s campus, so it is safe to assume that their suspensions have been lifted.



College of Charleston - 2016




In June of 2016, lengthy investigations unveiled the arrests of eight men between the ages of 19 and 25 for major drug-related charges. Uniquely, this investigation was sparked by revelations unearthed during the murder investigation of Patrick Moffly, who was a 23-year-old killed in his own apartment on March 4th, 2016. The scattered Xanax pills at the scene of his murder led the local authorities to begin investigating a lucrative drug trafficking ring operating through the College of Charleston’s campus.


Mikey Schmidt made money around campus selling fake IDs before bursting onto the drug market. Meanwhile, Rob Liljeberg dealt weed to those in his Kappa Alpha fraternity. Their separate enterprises and their pre-existing friendship led to their collaboration on selling harder drugs in Charleston, with the aid of recruits from their own fraternity to help deal said drugs.


Working out of million-dollar homes close to the College of Charleston’s campus in South Carolina, the drug enterprise used the university’s fraternities as drug distribution centers. A raid of one of these homes led to the discovery of drugs, seven firearms, a grenade launcher, and over $200,000 in cash. Reporting indicated that these individuals stamped out large quantities of pills using chemicals from Chinese suppliers bought online.


Charleston police arrested nine people and confiscated more than $150,000 worth of drugs, $214,000 in cash, and seven guns during a six-month probe that officials tied to the shooting death of Patrick Moffly.
Charleston police arrested nine people and confiscated more than $150,000 worth of drugs, $214,000 in cash, and seven guns during a six-month probe that officials tied to the shooting death of Patrick Moffly.

On Wednesday, June 8th, 2016, eight young men were arrested for their role in drug trafficking, with two of them belonging to Sigma Alpha Epsilon and three belonging to Kappa Alpha.


Michael Schmidt (21), Robert Liljeberg (22), Zackery Kligman (24), Benjamin Nauss (23), Jonathan Reams (19), Daniel Katko (25), Russell Sliker (22), Jake Poeschek (21)


“Lacrosse Player From Virginia: It was not one ring; it was several spread out among all these different connections. You could throw a rock a few feet and hit somebody who sold Xanax. And the same goes for cocaine, and for everything.” — Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall

After all of this, a majority of the young men involved in the drug ring faced little to no consequences. Some graduated from the College of Charleston with no criminal charges on their record, while others served a combination of jail time, suspended sentences, and probation. However, Mikey Schmidt received a ten-year prison sentence with no opportunity for parole. Wealthy parents, skilled lawyers, and the prevailing “boys will be boys” culture shielded many of those involved from facing real consequences. Riddled with privilege, the Kappa Alpha’s drug enterprise turned into a mere blip on the legacies of its ringleaders and the wider college community.


“If the fallout from the drug bust has taught them something, it’s that as long as you’re one of the boys, you can usually go as hard as you want without having to learn anything.” — Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall


So what does this mean?


According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), among young adults aged 18 to 25, 27.1% had a substance use disorder within the past year. The study also indicated that more than 22% of college students in the examination had used an illegal drug in the past 30 days. Depending on one’s perspective and relationship to the dynamics of college campuses, these numbers may appear either jarring or par for the course.


Hazing has also been widely discussed as a dangerous component of fraternities and sororities. Referring to initiation rituals imposed on prospective members of an organization, hazing can look like extreme alcohol consumption, sleep deprivation, humiliation, and other types of forced or coerced behaviors. While not unique to “Greek life”, 55% of college students involved in student organizations and collegiate teams experienced hazing. Hazing-related activities can lead to harmful mental health effects like post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional instability, depression, strained social relations, and more.


Research reported by the Newport Institute, individuals in fraternities are more likely to have sex while intoxicated (with alcohol or drugs). Especially considering many sororities do not allow alcohol at their events, women in sororities (and not in sororities) often go to fraternity houses to drink and party. Insights gleaned from the Newport Institute’s article highlight the statistic that female students in sororities are more than three times more likely to experience sexual assault, rape, or attempted rape than non-affiliated students. Even though this data honed in on those affiliated with fraternities and sororities, drug-facilitated sexual assault (DSFA) remains an issue for all individuals on college campuses.


RAINN indicated that 11% of women and 3% of men on U.S. college campuses report being sexually assaulted while incapacitated by drugs and/or alcohol. I fear that these numbers may not fully represent the actual proportions of individuals affected by sexual assault on college campuses, as reporting such incidents remains difficult for a variety of reasons. Nonetheless, drugs filtering through college campuses can dangerously heighten the risks of campus sexual harassment and assault.


With these drug trafficking rings woven within fraternities, they play a unique role in exacerbating substance abuse, hazing, and sexual assault concerns on college campuses.


Fraternity behavior affects more than just the organization’s members. The actions of fraternities, whether good or bad, directly impact others on campus and in the surrounding communities.


It is critical for universities, fraternities, sororities, and public officials to play a more active role in mitigating the presence of drugs on campus. Even though these investigations occurred, some of the individuals involved faced minimal criminal consequences. Many of the fraternities cited in these investigations have either never been penalized or have regained their status on campus. The universities documented in this article are not the only ones to have major drug rings prevalent on their campus, which further emphasizes the need for change. The current protocols have failed to suffice in mitigating the harms done by such a large presence of illicit drugs on a college campus.


“Being in a fraternity is almost like a separate campus for kids of an elite background. They’re both a product of and a producer of the American elite. They get drunk with each other, haze each other, and then help each other for the rest of their lives.” — Max Marshall, author of Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story


-----------------


Sources:

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page