The Kentucky Sentate gavel rests on the wooden sound block in the Kentucky Senate chambers before the first day of Concurrence began at the state Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. March 13, 2025.
Oakland, California – A Stanford University graduate who ran a high-tech drug delivery operation styled after popular food delivery services was sentenced Friday to more than four years in federal prison, following a months-long investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Natalie Marie Gonzalez, 31, of Oakland, created and operated “The Shop,” a clandestine service selling methamphetamine, cocaine, ketamine, and other substances across the Bay Area. Prosecutors said she used the encrypted messaging app Signal to coordinate deliveries with customers — many students and “young professionals” — and encouraged bulk purchases via a digital menu.
A federal judge sentenced Gonzalez to four years and two months in prison for one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. She pleaded guilty last September after selling fake Adderall — actually meth — to an undercover DEA agent.
According to court documents, Gonzalez employed three drivers, required a $300 minimum for deliveries, accepted payments in cash or cryptocurrency, and even used a puppy during drop-offs to make transactions appear more casual. In one exchange, she instructed the undercover agent to either “hop in for a short ‘Uber’ ride” or “get your order through the window like DoorDash,” adding they could “play with the pup” to cover up the deal.
Prosecutors painted Gonzalez with “substantial advantages in life” — raised in a comfortable home, educated at Stanford, and initially pursuing legitimate business ideas. But after several failed ventures between 2019 and 2021, some derailed by the pandemic, she turned to drug trafficking.
Gonzalez’s attorney, Thomas Rizk, described her as a “free-spirited” woman raised by hippie parents in Colorado who developed an interest in psychedelics for their potential therapeutic uses. Rizk said her original intent was to safely distribute substances like psilocybin and LSD to fund a spiritual retreat, but she became “misguided” and involved in the meth trade.
Following her arrest, Gonzalez entered counseling, gave up drug use, and enrolled in a master’s program at Stanford. She also began working for a Berkeley city council member.
In a letter to the court, Gonzalez wrote, “It is excruciating to look back and see how far I strayed from my values… I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Gonzalez will also serve three years of supervised release following her prison term. One co-defendant has already received a four-year sentence.
