Alleged Money Launderers for Mexican Cartels Indicted | USAO-SDCA

U.S. Assistant Attorneys Blanca Quintero (619) 546-7118 and Vivian Sapthavee (619) 546-7696

PRESS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 16, 2021

SAN DIEGO – An indictment was partially unsealed yesterday in federal court indicting 29 alleged members of an international money laundering organization linked to the Sinaloa and the new generation Jalisco cartels in Mexico.

Federal, state and local law enforcement officers were arrested last week
21 defendants across San Diego, Calexico, and Bakersfield, California allegedly implicated in an elaborate international money laundering system.

According to the indictment and other public records, this Imperial Valley-based money laundering organization (MLO) laundered more than $ 32 million in drug receipts from the United States to Mexico. The money laundering organization signed contracts with drug trafficking organizations in Mexico to collect drug receipts in cities across the United States, including Baltimore; Detroit; Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Boston; Denver; Chicago; New York City and numerous others.

Once the MLO received a contract, it communicated with couriers and bank account holders using burner phones and code sets to coordinate cash deposits in fictional funnel deals, the indictment said. The defendants allegedly served either as couriers and / or as holders of funnel bank accounts. The couriers traveled from San Diego to cities across the country to receive the cash after using photos and codes to verify the details of the meeting. The cash was usually hidden in trash bags, duffel bags, or shoeboxes. After the illegal cash proceeds were transferred to the fictitious funnel bank accounts, the funds were transferred to personal bank accounts in Mexico, where the money was then distributed to the drug trafficking organizations.

“Today we dealt a severe blow to this Imperial Valley-based international money laundering network with ties to the Sinaloa cartel and the new generation Jalisco cartel,” said acting US Attorney Randy Grossman. “By dismantling this network, the Department of Justice reaffirms its unwavering commitment to bringing those who corrupt our financial systems by laundering their illicit revenues to justice.” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division for their excellent work on this case.

“This complex financial investigation is a perfect example of the relentless focus HSI and its partners in the Costa Pacifico Money Laundering Task Force have to stop criminal organizations attempting to launder illegal drug money,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “The key to dismantling drug trafficking organizations is disrupting the flow of illicit funds and attacking the organizations’ money laundering element. HSI will continue to work with its other law enforcement partners to protect the US financial infrastructure and deploy our extensive investigative tools to stop criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. “

Acting US Attorney Grossman also commended law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels for coordinating teamwork in completing this investigation. Agents and officials from the United States Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the Imperial Valley area also provided vital assistance in the investigation. In addition, this investigation was conducted with the support of the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF) Third-Party Money Laundering (3PML) program and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

The charges are part of an investigation by the Anti-Drug Organized Crime Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the senior drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations threatening the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence, and inter-agency approach that counteracts the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies criminal networks. This case was led by the HSI Costa Pacifico Money Laundering Task Force (CPTF), the DEA, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation. The CPTF is a collaborative partnership of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies focused on national and transnational criminal organizations that seek to cleanse and obfuscate drug revenues through bulk cash smuggling or national and international financial systems.

A charge is not proof of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to a fair trial, in which the government must prove their guilt beyond any doubt.

ACCUSED File Number 21cr2546-GPC

Ricardo VALENZUELA-Gale Age: 25 Mexicali, Mexico

David DURAN-Rivera Age: 35 BOP custody

Gerardo SILVAS Age: 33 Mexicali, Mexico (BOP Custody)

Jose Luis VARGAS-Espinosa Age: 30 BOP Custody

Robert ANZALDO Age: 28 Mexicali, Mexico

Diana Brenda RODRIGUEZ-Sandez Age: 23 Mexicali, Mexico

Christian FERNANDEZ Age: 29 Mexicali, Mexico

Julia Vianney SUAZO-Quirino Age: 23 Mexicali, Mexico

Adrian Roset VELASQUEZ Age: 23 Mexicali, Mexico

Shantal MACIEL Age: 34 Mexicali, Mexico

Cesar Enrique CANTU Age: 29 Unknown

Nessie Aizu Age: 28 Mexicali, Mexico

Alejandro CABRERA-Herrera Age: 21 Unknown

Adriana Elizabeth VALENZUELA-Gale Age: 28 Mexicali, Mexico

Axel GUADALUPE Age: 20 Unknown

Fidel Alejandro ZAMARANO-Bernal Age: 33 Unknown

Derian SERVIN-Diaz Age: 25 Unknown

Erik D. GALAVIZ Age: 30 Mexicali, Mexico

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments (18 USC §§ 1956 (a) (1) and (h))

Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison, $ 500,000 fine, or double the value of the monetary instrument or funds.

AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

Drug Enforcement Administration, Narcotics Task Force

Internal Revenue Service – criminal investigation department

Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations

San Diego Sheriffs Department

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/alleged-money-launderers-mexican-cartels-indicted