Omaha Woman Sentenced to Prison for Laundering Drug Money

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – On April 2, 2019, Valeria Ventura Ramirez, age 48, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced to 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to launder money, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. Ventura Ramirez was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

In 2016, Ventura Ramirez was the owner and operator of Novedades Ventura, Inc., a money service business located on Leavenworth Street in Omaha. Between July and November of 2016, Ventura Ramirez utilized multiple money transfer companies, including but not limited to, MoneyGram, Western Union, Sigue, InterCambio Express, CES and Intermex, to knowingly wire drug money from the United States to Mexico on behalf of drug traffickers operating in Council Bluffs and Omaha.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Omaha Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.