Hawkeye Reporter

A woman from Galva, Iowa, was sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Braleigh Schossow, 25, pleaded guilty on February 11, 2025, to conspiracy charges related to distributing the potent opioid.

At her sentencing hearing on July 10, 2025, Schossow admitted to distributing at least 100,000 fentanyl pills between December 2020 and February 2024. Evidence revealed that she obtained counterfeit pills stamped with "M30" containing fentanyl from sources in Minnesota and distributed them across Iowa and Nebraska. In one instance in 2022, some of these pills led to a fatal overdose. A search warrant executed at her Fort Dodge residence in 2023 uncovered over 7,000 fentanyl pills, cocaine, $72,000 in cash, and a loaded handgun.

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Schossow in Sioux City to a term of imprisonment of 141 months. Following her release from prison, she will serve a five-year supervised release period. Federal sentences do not include parole options.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City. The task force includes personnel from various law enforcement agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at identifying and dismantling high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through a coordinated multi-agency approach.