Hollywood woman found guilty of running drug delivery business that resulted in near-fatal overdoses

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Hollywood woman was found guilty Tuesday of running a drug delivery business that employed drivers - including a part-time actor - and resulted in three near-fatal fentanyl overdoses.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 36-year-old Mirela Todorova, also known as "Mimi," orchestrated a tech-savvy drug trafficking operation in which she would give cellphones and drugs - including counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl - to drivers so they could deliver the drugs across Los Angeles County and elsewhere.

Todorova - who is a citizen of the U.S., Canada, and Bulgaria - also delivered drugs herself, authorities said.

"This defendant used her knowledge of technology to peddle the poison of fentanyl - despite knowing the pills she sold ran the risk of killing people," said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally in a statement. "Investigating and prosecuting these cases saves lives. I commend our local and federal partners for stopping this dangerous criminal organization and bringing justice to the victims here."

According to prosecutors, Todorova hired Mucktarr Kather Sei, 39, of Koreatown, as a driver.

Authorities said she gave him the keys to her Hollywood stash house, which allowed him to run the operation while she was away.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Todorova spent some time in Mexico where she "continued to manage her drug operation" while tending to her pet jaguar named "Princess."

From November 2020 to January 2021, three of Todorova's customers suffered near-fatal overdoses of fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills.

Todorova reportedly continued to sell these fentanyl-laced pills until February 2021.

In March 2021, law enforcement officials executed search warrants on Todorova's vehicle and home where they found drug trafficking materials and narcotics, including lab-confirmed methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA, as a well as a single purported oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl.

Nine months later, Todorova knowingly lied to federal law enforcement officials when she said she thought the drugs seized from her apartment were vitamins, saying she never showed anyone how to package or make drugs, according to authorities.

She also said she only met Sei twice.

After a nine-day trial, the jury found Todorova guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of distribution of fentanyl, three counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute MDMA (Ecstasy), and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

Todorova must also forfeit $498,555 in drug proceeds to the government.

A sentencing hearing has been set for September 12. Todorova, who's been in federal custody since April 2021, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.

Sei and two other defendants charged in this case - Christopher Y. Moreno Núñez, 29, of Pacific Palisades, and Ashley Alicia Nicole Johnson, 34, of Los Angeles - each pleaded guilty last year to felony narcotics distribution charges and will be sentenced in the coming months.

Sei has been in federal custody since February 2022.