MIAMI, Fla. — Four people have been arrested in connection with the fatal MDMA overdose of a 24-year-old Georgia nursing graduate who died after taking the party drug at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival last year, authorities announced Wednesday.
The charges stem from the death of Jenniha Le of Lawrenceville, Georgia, who collapsed after consuming what investigators described as a pressed MDMA pill while attending the electronic music festival at Bayfront Park on March 30, 2025. Le was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital the following morning, marking a case that Miami-Dade prosecutors say demonstrates their zero-tolerance approach to drug trafficking as this year’s Ultra festival approaches. The arrests involve residents from both Florida and Georgia who allegedly coordinated the drug purchase and delivery through text messages and social media.
According to court documents, Le had traveled to Miami with her romantic partner, 25-year-old Hannah Le-Nguyen, also of Lawrenceville, to attend the three-day festival. Investigators said Le-Nguyen contacted a friend, 25-year-old Carmen Lo of Sandy Springs, Georgia, asking “Also do u have a molly plug?” in a March 24, 2025 text message. Lo connected Le-Nguyen with 27-year-old Charlene Brittany Forti of Coral Springs, who responded “I heard you were in need of supplements” and offered to sell “1 molly pill” for $35, according to arrest warrants. “I don’t have anyone at the moment who can do addy, but I have 2 expired pills that are 10 mg instant release if you’re willing to try it,” Forti allegedly wrote, adding she didn’t know the exact dosage of the pressed MDMA pill.
The drug transaction was completed through 26-year-old An Tan Ly of Parkland, Florida, who served as an intermediary, prosecutors said. Text messages show Forti told Le-Nguyen on March 29, 2025: “I gave your goods to Andrew Ly since I think he’ll get there earlier than me today.” Ly later messaged Le-Nguyen stating “bestie I will be giving u ur pills tomorrow for Charlene,” according to court records. Investigators found an Instagram story photo showing Ly and Forti together in downtown Miami that corroborated the drug exchange. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said the case was built through extensive digital evidence, including payment discussions where Forti indicated she accepted Zelle or Venmo transfers. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s South Florida State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication Task Force led the year-long investigation.
At the festival on March 30, 2025, Le initially consumed three-quarters of the pill and “was described as feeling lovely and appeared to be enjoying the music” for approximately 45 minutes, according to arrest warrants. After taking the remaining quarter of the pill, she began experiencing severe symptoms, telling Le-Nguyen she felt “extremely hot and could not control her body movements.” Just after 10:30 p.m., Miami Fire Rescue crews responded to the festival’s medical tent where Le was showing signs of distress, going in and out of consciousness with an elevated heart rate and making incomprehensible sounds. She was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where medical staff found she had a high pain response and could not respond to commands, but she did not respond to treatment in the intensive care unit.
As Le’s condition deteriorated at the hospital, Le-Nguyen texted Forti at 11:14 p.m. asking “Do u know for sure if it is MDMA?” according to court documents. Forti allegedly responded: “When I tested it, I got MDMA. Most of the ‘MDMA’ I buy end up being that unfortunately. I can ask the guy who sold it if he had any other info.” The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Le’s cause of death was “acute methylenedioxy-methamphetamine toxicity,” confirming the drug was indeed MDMA. Le, who had recently graduated from Georgia State University with a nursing degree and passed her licensing exam, had been looking forward to starting her career at Grady Memorial Hospital’s oncology unit, according to her sorority’s social media tribute.
Forti faces the most serious charges, including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and unlawful use of a communication device, and is being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Lo was arrested Tuesday in Atlanta by Sandy Springs police and charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; she awaits extradition to Miami-Dade County from the Fulton County Jail. Le-Nguyen and Ly were arrested in Miami-Dade on Tuesday and face possession of a controlled substance charges, though court records show their cases have been resolved with withheld adjudication and probation. “From the outset my client, Mr. Ly, took responsibility and played a constructive role in helping to ensure the truth came to light,” Ly’s attorney Michael Mirer said.
Defense attorney Richard Cooper, representing Forti, disputed the charges in a statement calling them “selective prosecution.” “My client is not a drug dealer,” Cooper said. “The state attorney chose to charge my client with murder of her friend while giving sweetheart deals of withheld adjudications and probation with dismissals at the end for people equally as liable and culpable as they say my client is.” Cooper added that prosecutors “will not be able to prove that the pill my client allegedly gave to the victim was the one that killed her.” Ultra Music Festival’s Chief of Security Ray Martinez said the organization “work closely with law enforcement as a longstanding practice” and maintains “strong security protocols” including “comprehensive entry screening and on-site security measures in coordination with the City of Miami Police Department.”
The arrests come just days before this year’s Ultra Music Festival begins, prompting stern warnings from law enforcement officials about drug trafficking consequences. “Let this be clear. The City of Miami will not tolerate the sale or distribution of illegal narcotics,” Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said. “Anyone engaged in drug trafficking or delivery will be held accountable. If the substances you provide result in serious bodily harm or death, the Miami Police Department will pursue all applicable charges to the fullest extent of the law.” Fernandez Rundle emphasized the stakes for festival-goers: “When you come to play, come to play, don’t choose to leave in a pine box. If you choose to sell or deliver drugs, you are responsible for those consequences and if someone dies because of the drugs you provide, you will be held accountable.”
