SAN DIEGO – Luis Fernando Figueroa of Tijuana pleaded guilty
in federal court today to money laundering charges, admitting that he worked
with others to launder and transfer money to Mexico through accounts he opened
up at Wells Fargo as a personal banker.
Figueroa’s arrest by the FBI in November 2018 was the last
in a string of indictments and arrests tied to the international money
laundering organization based in Tijuana, Mexico but operating primarily in San
Diego. To date, eight former members and
leaders of the organization have been arrested and charged in San Diego. Six of those arrested have pleaded guilty.
According to the indictment and other public records, the
international money laundering organization laundered approximately $19.6
million dollars in narcotics proceeds on behalf of Mexican based drug
trafficking organizations to include the Sinaloa Cartel between 2014 and 2016.
“We can’t allow our banks to be laundromats for cartel
cash,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “Bank employees who launder drug money
for traffickers will face prosecution and prison.”
“Today’s conviction shows the dedication and depth of the
FBI’s efforts to dismantle money laundering organizations,” said Suzanne
Turner, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge of the San Diego Field Office. “With our law enforcement partners, we will
continue to strike at the heart of narcotics trafficking by pursuing each and
every member of money laundering organizations who feed the proceeds of illegal
and dangerous drug trafficking back to the cartels.”
According to court documents, the money laundering
organization recruited individuals to serve as funnel account holders to open
personal bank accounts at Wells Fargo Bank and other U.S. banks. Figueroa, as a personal banker with Wells
Fargo, admitted in his plea agreement that he knowingly opened personal bank
accounts at Wells Fargo for the funnel account holders, knowing that those
personal accounts would be used to launder funds to Mexico.
Other members of the money laundering organization, known as
couriers, travelled to Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, New Jersey, and
New York City to pick up bulk cash narcotics proceeds that ranged from
thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in narcotics proceeds. The
couriers made contact with individuals holding the bulk cash in private
residences or public places such as parking lots and retail stores. The cash was typically concealed in shopping
bags, duffel bags or shoeboxes.
Once in possession of
the money, the couriers deposited the bulk cash in increments of $22,000 to
$45,000 into the funnel bank accounts at Wells Fargo Bank and other U.S. banks
controlled by the money laundering organization. The funds were then wire transferred from the
funnel accounts to a series of Mexico based shell companies operated by the
money laundering organization. Figueroa
himself made multiple wire transfers from the funnel accounts knowing that the
funds were from unlawful activity. Once in Mexico, the funds were transferred
to representatives of the Sinaloa Cartel.
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together
the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement. The
principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and
prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and
money laundering organizations and enterprises.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blanca
Quintero.
DEFENDANT Case Number:
17CR-2203-WQH
Luis Fernando Figueroa Age: 30 Tijuana, Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Money Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section
1956(h)
Criminal Forfeiture (18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(C), 18 U.S.C.
982(a)(1), 28 U.S.C. 2461(c))
Maximum penalty: 20 years’ imprisonment and $500,000 fine
AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Diego Cross Border Violence
Task Force
IRS Criminal Investigations
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