Centre County Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on John Cyphert, 64.

According to information presented to the Court, from November 2019 to March 2020, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Cyphert conspired to distribute and possessed with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Cyphert was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of methamphetamine that he distributed to others.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Olshan commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Cyphert.

Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Clearfield County District Attorney's Office, Erie County District Attorney's Office, Millcreek Police Department, Erie Bureau of Police, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.