A Belton, Missouri man pleaded guilty on April 16 to selling fentanyl to a confidential informant, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Raimon Martez Gilliam, also known as “Ray Money,” “Money,” and “Money Mike,” age 27, admitted before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to one count of distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl, which is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance.
Court documents state that on October 8, 2025, a confidential informant working with the Jackson County Drug Task Force arranged with Gilliam to purchase fentanyl. Gilliam met the informant near Indiana Avenue in Kansas City and exchanged two baggies containing purple and white fentanyl for $5,400. After the transaction, detectives collected the substances and sent them for testing at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory. The lab confirmed both bags contained fentanyl weighing a total of 73.02 grams.
Under federal law, Gilliam faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to forty years in prison without parole. Sentencing will be determined by the court after completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh is prosecuting this case following an investigation by the Jackson County Drug Task Force. The case falls under Operation Take Back America, described as “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri supports community outreach and prevention programs aimed at addressing issues like violent crime and drug trafficking according to its official website. The office handles federal prosecutions across 66 counties in western Missouri according to its official website, operating out of Kansas City, Jefferson City and Springfield according to its official website. Its jurisdiction extends from Iowa’s border southward to Arkansas’ border and eastward halfway across Missouri according to its official website. The office collaborates with various law enforcement partners at all levels according to its official website.
