A federal judge in Columbus sentenced a 36-year-old Las Vegas woman to 188 months in federal prison for participating in a methamphetamine mailing operation and executing a separate half-million-dollar tax fraud scheme while awaiting trial.
Tiauna Castro received the sentence in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy and tax fraud charges. Federal prosecutors stated that the operation shipped bulk narcotics across state lines using the U.S. Postal Service, moving roughly 83 pounds of methamphetamine into central Ohio from suppliers in California and Las Vegas.
The sentencing follows a federal investigation that dismantled a parcel-shipping network. Court records show that the case originated from a 2021 investigation conducted jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Central Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.
Postal Inspectors Tracked 128 Suspect Mail Parcels Across State Lines
Investigators identified at least 128 mail parcels believed to contain methamphetamine as part of the coordinated operation.
Within the conspiracy, Castro met with bulk narcotics distributors and negotiated prices with the suppliers. She then bought bulk amounts of narcotics, stored them, repackaged them for shipping and sent them out through the U.S. Mail.
In April 2022, federal authorities formally indicted Castro alongside seven co-defendants for the drug conspiracy.
Tax Fraud Scheme Executed While on Pretrial Release
While her federal drug case remained pending, Castro engaged in financial crimes. Federal authorities discovered that she filed false federal tax forms connected to two sham businesses, ultimately collecting more than $500,000 in fraudulent refunds to which she was not entitled.
Prosecutors filed additional charges against her in January 2025 while she was on pretrial release for the drug charges. Castro pleaded guilty in March 2026 to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and submitting false claims.
Case Prosecution and Court Proceedings
U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson imposed the 188-month prison sentence in Columbus. Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced the sentence imposed.
Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy D. Prichard and Emily Czerniejewski represented the United States in this case.
