Mikey Schmidt is the former College of Charleston student and Kappa Alpha Order member who ran one of the largest fraternity-based drug operations in the Southeast, and who is now serving a ten-year no-parole sentence in South Carolina after a June 2016 bust seized tens of thousands of counterfeit Xanax pills, cocaine, firearms, and more than $200,000 in cash. The case in Charleston involving Mikey Schmidt has drawn renewed national attention since 2023, when journalist Max Marshall published a book based on interviews with Schmidt and others tied to the ring.
Who Mikey Schmidt Is
Schmidt arrived at the College of Charleston as a freshman around 2013 and pledged Kappa Alpha Order. He was already selling marijuana and running a fake-ID business out of Atlanta before college. According to reporting on the case, his move into large-scale dealing was influenced by fellow KA member Rob Liljeberg, the fraternity’s 2014 president, who was running a marijuana operation from his dorm room.1New York Times. Among the Bros by Max Marshall
By the time the ring was broken up, Schmidt was twenty-one and reportedly earning more than $10,000 a week.2CrimeReads. Max Marshall Among the Bros Interview
How the Drug Ring Worked
The operation sourced raw alprazolam powder from Chinese laboratories through the dark web, shipping it inside printer cartridges through Quebec to the South Carolina coast.2CrimeReads. Max Marshall Among the Bros Interview The group rented beach houses on a rotating basis, one per month, for production. Workers in hazmat suits used an industrial pill press to manufacture as many as a few hundred thousand counterfeit Xanax pills each month, then packaged the finished pills in heat-sealed Skittles and chip bags for shipment.3This Is Criminal. Episode 278: Millions of Pills
A key figure in the supply chain was Zachary Kligman, a non-student from Myrtle Beach described as the “Charleston kingpin,” who used a secret compartment in his Cadillac sedan to move pills into the city. Kligman supplied Liljeberg, who in turn sold in bulk to Schmidt and other fraternity members.3This Is Criminal. Episode 278: Millions of Pills The ring also dealt cocaine, MDMA, LSD, and marijuana.
How Fraternities Fit In
The distribution side ran on Greek life. Pledges, already expected to run errands for older members, served as couriers. Chapters at other southeastern universities gave the ring a built-in network of trusted buyers and sub-dealers, and profits were laundered through fraternity slush funds disguised as donations or party expenses.3This Is Criminal. Episode 278: Millions of Pills The participants branded themselves the “Wolves of King Street” and often described what they were doing as entrepreneurship.4Salon. When the Corrosive Effects of Greek Life Spill Out
The ring drew members from both Kappa Alpha Order and Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the College of Charleston, with reach into chapters at Ole Miss, the University of Georgia, and the University of South Carolina.3This Is Criminal. Episode 278: Millions of Pills Kappa Alpha’s national organization later said the conduct violated its bylaws.5Vanity Fair. Frat Boy Crime Ring
The Murder of Patrick Moffly
In March 2016 the ring’s activities turned violent. Patrick Moffly, a 23-year-old former student connected to the network, was shot and killed at his off-campus home on Smith Street in Charleston. His body was found surrounded by hundreds of the ring’s signature GG249-stamped Xanax pills, with a Chipotle napkin covering the bullet wound.2CrimeReads. Max Marshall Among the Bros Interview Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said the killing occurred during a drug deal and confirmed the murder investigation was directly connected to the broader drug ring probe.6Live5 News. Charleston Police Investigation Nets $150K Worth of Pills, Weapons, Arrests
Charles Edward Mungin III was found guilty of murder and armed robbery in September 2019 and sentenced to life in prison for the murder plus thirty years for the robbery.7Post and Courier. Life Sentence for Man Convicted of Killing Former Charleston School Board Member’s Son A second suspect, John Glover, was also charged with murder.8ABC News 4. Second Person Charged in Homicide of Patrick Moffly Schmidt was not charged in connection with Moffly’s death.
The June 2016 Bust
The Charleston Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit led a six-month investigation, working with state and federal agencies. It began with a single arrest and expanded across state lines into Oregon, Georgia, and California, with more than twelve search warrants executed alongside undercover buys and surveillance.9Charleston City Paper. Charleston Police Bust Uncovers Network of Illegal Drug Distributors
When police announced results in June 2016, they had seized:
- 43,242 pills, including Xanax and synthetic cannabinoids, valued at roughly $150,000
- About 734 grams of cocaine
- About 2,500 grams of marijuana
- MDMA, LSD, and hashish
- $214,161 in cash
- Seven firearms and a Tac-D grenade launcher
- Four vehicles
Nine people were arrested on twenty-nine state narcotics charges.6Live5 News. Charleston Police Investigation Nets $150K Worth of Pills, Weapons, Arrests
Charges and Sentences
Schmidt was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, AB-Fubinaca.6Live5 News. Charleston Police Investigation Nets $150K Worth of Pills, Weapons, Arrests2CrimeReads. Max Marshall Among the Bros Interview5Vanity Fair. Frat Boy Crime Ring
Robert Liljeberg, twenty-two, was charged with two counts of trafficking cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of AB-Fubinaca; his specific sentence is not detailed in available reporting.6Live5 News. Charleston Police Investigation Nets $150K Worth of Pills, Weapons, Arrests Daniel Katko, who faced the widest array of charges, including trafficking MDMA, manufacturing THC, and possession of LSD with intent to distribute, pleaded guilty to six counts and was sentenced by Circuit Judge Thomas Hughston to three years in prison, the minimum term he faced, followed by two years of probation.10Post and Courier. Key Player in Charleston Drug Ring Involving College Students Gets 3-Year Prison Sentence
Most of the remaining defendants were able to graduate from college while on probation or walked away from charges after cooperating with police, according to The Guardian.11The Guardian. Among the Bros: Max Marshall Author Interview The gap between Schmidt’s decade behind bars and the lighter outcomes for most of his co-defendants has been a recurring theme in later coverage.
Why the Case Is Back in the News
Interest revived in 2023 with the publication of Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall, based on more than 120 interviews conducted between 2018 and 2023.12Charleston City Paper. New Book Digs Into the Story of CofC Drug Ring Marshall interviewed Schmidt using a contraband phone while Schmidt was incarcerated.13Post and Courier. Q&A: Max Marshall, Author of Among the Bros
The book argues that the American fraternity system worked as a distribution infrastructure, and describes the ring’s structure as resembling a multi-level marketing scheme, with the price of counterfeit Xanax climbing at each step from manufacturer to campus dealer to end user.4Salon. When the Corrosive Effects of Greek Life Spill Out Marshall also reported multiple student deaths connected to drug use within the network, though those victims were not publicly named.12Charleston City Paper. New Book Digs Into the Story of CofC Drug Ring The New York Times reviewed the book and Vanity Fair published a feature adapted from its reporting. Under the no-parole terms of his plea, Schmidt is expected to serve the full ten years from the time the sentence was imposed after his 2016 arrest.