FBI Offers $10 Million Reward for Ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding Accused of Leading Drug Syndicate
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On March 6th, Akil Davis, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, announced in a press conference in Westwood that Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, is now on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Former Olympian Accused of Leading Drug Syndicate
Authorities accuse him of leading a large-scale drug trafficking operation and being involved in multiple homicides. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.
well, how about that, a Canadian Drug Lord……
The U.S. Department of State is offering a $10 million reward for the capture of a former Olympic snowboarder accused of running a major transnational drug trafficking organization and orchestrating multiple murders, authorities… pic.twitter.com/da14UaVfcH
— Mooses Felix 🇺🇸 (@MoosesFelix) March 6, 2025
Wedding, 43, competed in the men’s parallel giant slalom event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, finishing 24th.
After his sports career, he allegedly became involved in drug trafficking, leading to a 2010 conviction in California. Since his release, authorities claim he ascended within the criminal underworld, aligning with the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,” Akil Davis, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said in a press conference Thursday.
The FBI alleges that Wedding’s organization smuggled large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl from Colombia through Mexico into the United States and Canada.
To facilitate these operations, the syndicate reportedly used the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) to launder proceeds and bypass traditional banking systems.
Beyond drug trafficking, Wedding and his associate, Andrew Clark, are accused of orchestrating multiple murders to protect their enterprise.
One such incident includes the targeted killing of a family in Ontario, Canada, in 2023. Clark has been apprehended in Mexico and is awaiting trial in the United States, while Wedding remains at large, believed to be under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Legal Implications and Ongoing Manhunt
Authorities believe he lives in Mexico, but they have not dismissed the possibility that he could be in other locations, such as the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, or Costa Rica.
The FBI stated that his aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King.”
If convicted, Wedding faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in federal prison for operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
The murder and attempted murder charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of 20 years, while the drug trafficking charges could result in prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years.
The FBI’s investigation into Wedding’s activities highlights the growing use of cryptocurrencies like Tether in international crime.
Reports indicate that Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, have increasingly relied on such digital currencies to move illicit funds across borders swiftly.
In a similar case, a Chicago family was kidnapped in February 2025, with the kidnappers demanding a $15 million ransom in cryptocurrency.
The family and their nanny were held for five days under threat of death, but one victim managed to escape and alert authorities. The full amount remains uncertain, while $6 million in cryptocurrency was transferred.
This case, like the one involving Ryan Wedding, highlights the growing use of digital currencies in criminal operations, complicating efforts by authorities to track illicit transactions and apprehend those involved.
