An attorney from Mexico City pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to launder tens of millions of dollars in drug trafficking proceeds on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a May 30 statement.
The organization used a network of San Diego-based shell companies to launder bulk cash—in amounts up to $200,000—from cities across the United States before delivering it to money laundering accounts in Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In his plea agreement, Paez admitted to having a managerial role in the organization’s operations.
Prosecutors said Paez also used cryptocurrency to hide assets as the FBI ramped up its investigation, which began years before the prosecution.
The FBI seized 66 “money laundering bank accounts” tied to the organization and shut down its cryptocurrency network, prosecutors said. So far, law enforcement has arrested 11 people on money laundering charges and seized $3.1 million in illegal assets, according to the attorney’s office.
A related probe by the Drug Enforcement Administration also led to 24 more arrests and $450,000 in seized assets.
Paez faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine for international money laundering conspiracy. He is due to be sentenced on Aug. 15.
The Epoch Times reached out to Paez’s court-appointed attorney but did not receive a response by publication time.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative that “marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
The Sinaloa cartel is a foreign terrorist organization known for trafficking fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States.
In March, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six individuals and seven entities, including Paez’s alleged co-conspirators.
“Treasury, as part of a whole-of-government approach to addressing this pressing national security threat, will use all available tools to target anyone who assists the cartels in furthering their campaign of crime and violence.”