HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A 26-year-old woman is facing charges after authorities said she attempted to buy $20,000 worth of Bitcoin in an effort to purchase a kilogram of alprazolam on the dark web.
Alprazolam is a common benzodiazepine drug that is better known as Xanax.
According to court documents, Meganne Dallas Money, who was armed at the time, met a cooperating defendant at a fast food restaurant in southwest Houston with $20,000 in cash on Dec. 4, 2018. When she got in the cooperating defendant's vehicle, authorities stepped in.
Once Money was detained, she was interviewed and agreed to cooperate with investigators, court records said.
After waiving her Miranda rights, Money told authorities she received the $20,000 in cash from a man named "Adam," according to court records. She said Adam told her to meet at the restaurant to exchange the cash for Bitcoin, according to court documents.
According to documents, Money also told authorities she knew the Bitcoin would be used to purchase alprazolam, a schedule IV narcotic, through the dark web.
Money said she had exchanged currency for Bitcoin for Adam on two prior occasions, receiving about $1,000 for each exchange, according to court records. She said she was expecting to make $4,000 for the $20,000 Bitcoin purchase, authorities said.
Money said she communicated with Adam through text messages, Facebook messages and an encrypted app called Signal to coordinate the money exchanges, according to authorities.
Money said the operation was being run by a person known as "Beezy," according to court documents.
Money posted a $15,000 bond and is due in court June 19.