SIOUX CITY, IA (Northwestiowanow) – A Galva woman has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for her role in a large-scale fentanyl distribution operation that led to at least one death.

On July 10, 25-year-old Braleigh Schossow was sentenced to 141 months in federal prison in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, following a guilty plea in February to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

According to court records, between December 2020 and February 2024, Schossow distributed over 100,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl across Iowa and Nebraska. The pills, sourced from Minnesota and marked with the imprint “M30,” were sold as legitimate prescription opioids.

In 2022, some of the pills Schossow distributed were linked to a fatal overdose. A year later, law enforcement executed a search warrant at her residence in Fort Dodge, where they found more than 7,000 fentanyl pills, cocaine, $72,000 in cash, and a loaded handgun.

Schossow was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following her prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of an operation led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which targets high-level criminal organizations through a coordinated, multi-agency approach.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, local police departments, and multiple state and federal agencies.