A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has returned a superseding indictment charging nine individuals involved in a large-scale operation to launder U.S. currency into cryptocurrency on behalf of drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia. The defendants are also charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The indictment follows an extensive law enforcement operation that uncovered a network of black market cryptocurrency launderers and unlicensed money transmitters. This investigation has led to the conviction of three individuals and additional charges against three others.
According to court documents, the operation ran between 2020 and mid-2023, during which the defendants and their co-conspirators would collect bulk cash from drug sales in various U.S. cities. They then coordinated to exchange the cash for cryptocurrency, which was sent to wallets controlled by the defendants or their associates. The cryptocurrency was later converted into cash and delivered to cartel leaders in Mexico and Colombia.
The key figures in the conspiracy, including Nilson Sneyder Vasquez Duarte (a/k/a “Sobri”), 34, and his co-conspirators, worked closely with black market cryptocurrency exchangers such as Hernan Horacio Richard Samper (59), Maria Eugenia Landeros Rosas (a/k/a “Yeni,” 52), Raimundo Carlos Rodriguez Huter (40), Mayccol Hejeile Morales (36), and Hernan Julian Calvo Bueno (34). The group also employed couriers, including Sergio Fernando Vargas Alvarez (37), Juan Carlos Riano Muentes (36), and Jesus Ivan Rincon Martinez (45), who physically transported the cash between U.S. cities.
The nine defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Several of the defendants, including Duarte, Landeros, Huter, Rincon, Morales, Calvo Bueno, and Alvarez, are also facing substantive money laundering charges.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), and the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), under the El Dorado Task Force. Senior Litigation Counsel Michael N. Berger and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nalina Sombuntham are prosecuting the case.
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