FARGO, ND (KXNET) — A 52-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to serve 190 months in federal prison, or 15 years and 10 months, for leading a cocaine distribution operation for four years in the Fargo-Moorhead area. The U.S. Department of Justice says that Barrett Clair Prody, a former Fort Lauderdale businessman, distributed as much as 25 kilograms of cocaine through his organization. An investigation showed he made hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds, which he then laundered through business accounts. Prody used the money to pay for a condominium in Fort Lauderdale and rent an apartment in Medellín, Colombia. He also put more than $100,000 in an investment account. He was arrested in April 2024, after which Prody attempted to have a third party transfer his condo and investment account ownership to avoid forfeiture. Burleigh County deputy finishes pizza delivery after driver arrested “Barrett Prody pushed a substantial amount of cocaine into Fargo and Moorhead, with little concern for the lives impacted and families destroyed by this poisonous product,” Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Rafael Mattei said in a press release. “Traffickers like Prody see only personal gain, not individual human lives or the life-altering consequences that can come from drug use.” “Barrett Prody’s greed fueled a yearslong cocaine enterprise that profited off addiction and human suffering,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Kopp. “Today’s sentence ensures accountability for his crimes.” Prody was sentenced for the offenses of Continuing Criminal Enterprise, Money Laundering Conspiracy, and Obstruction of Justice. In addition to 190 months in prison, Prody was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and will have to pay a $300 special assessment fee. This case is part of an effort to eliminate cocaine trafficking in North Dakota, called Operation Winter Weather. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation attempts to find and take down groups that threaten the U.S., through cooperation by multiple law enforcement agencies. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW ...read more read less