Upper Marlboro Man Sentenced for Drug Dealing

A United States District Court judge has sentenced Eric Hellams, of Upper Marlboro, to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to commit money laundering and mail fraud.

Hellams must also forfeit jewelry, seven properties and two vehicles purchased from drug money: more than $100,000 in cash, and deposits from 13 banking or investment accounts.

“The sentence Mr. Hellams received should send a strong message to both drug traffickers and their financiers, who attempt to hide their illicit gains,” DEA agent Ava A. Cooper-Davis said in a statement. “Drug trafficking and its proceeds will always lead to prison time.”

According to his plea agreement, from 2003 to 2009, Hellams conspired to distribute heroin to customers in the Baltimore area. Judge Williams determined at today’s hearing that Hellams conspired to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin.

Hellams also conspired with others to conceal the drug proceeds by the way he conducted his financial transactions. For example, Hellams conducted over $200,000 in cash transactions, paying personal expenses with money orders purchased with cash from drug trafficking.

On June 2, 2008, Hellams and a co-conspirator drove to New York and laundered $198,740 in drug proceeds. During the course of the conspiracy, Hellams and others conspired to launder between $400,000 and $1 million in proceeds from drug trafficking.

In July 2006, Hellams sought refinancing of a home on Howell Drive in Upper Marlboro in the amount of $431,250.

Hellams falsely listed his monthly income at $14,897 on a mortgage document which he mailed to the mortgage company, which equaled an annual income of $178,764.

The only employment listed by Hellams was president of “Dreemrs Trucking.” For the tax year 2006, however, Hellams filed a federal tax return reporting only $3,355 in total income. The mortgage went into default, resulting in a loss of $107,590 to the mortgage company.

On April 13, 2010, agents executed a search warrant at Hellams' home on McCormick Road in Upper Marlboro and seized: $94,875 in cash hidden in an attic crawl space; a bullet-proof vest; jewelry, including Rolex, Gucci, and Cartier watches, necklaces and Tiffany bracelets; a 2008 Mercedes-Benz coupe for which Hellams was paying approximately $2,200 per month in loan payments; a Toyota truck; $5,000 in cash in a closet; and $1,220 in cash in a pocket of an apron.