By Gina T. Reilly
Larry Junior Hillbroom, 37, heir of the late DHL founder Larry Hillbloom, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Hope, Idaho.
Idaho's acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez Jr. said Chief Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale took Hillbroom’s plea and set the case for sentencing on Feb. 8, 2022.
According to court records, in 2015 and 2016, Hillbroom conspired with others to smuggle methamphetamine through international airports between North Idaho and Guam and Palau.
The prosecution said Hillbroom and others used several different methods to smuggle the drugs, including shampoo containers and carrying the substance on their person.
Once in Guam or Palau, Hillbroom would coordinate with locals to sell the methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers learned of the conspiracy and were able to investigate and ultimately arrest Hillbroom and his coconspirators.
Hillbroom's co-defendants, Morgan Kenney and Zachary Craig Carlson previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to federal prison.
Another co-defendant, Sean Robert Wathen, has pled not guilty to the conspiracy and is currently set for trial in November 2021.
All defendants, including Hillbroom, are residents of Idaho.
Hillbroom, known in Palau by the name "Imeong," gained the world's attention when, then 10 years old, he was at the center of a paternity suit that awarded him $90 million from the estate of the founder of DHL Worldwide, the world's largest air courier service.
Hillbroom faced separate charges in his home country, where he was found guilty of trying to smuggle methamphetamine into Palau in June 2018.
Hillbroom became one of the world’s richest teenagers in 1998 after his Palauan mother, Kaelani Kinny, proved that he was the result of a brief encounter with Hillblom when she was 14.
Hillbroom was one of at least four children the millionaire American businessman is believed to have fathered during sex tours of Asia.
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