Summary: 15 individuals which included 9 defendants and 6 associates face charges in the great state Florida for allegedly laundering drug money from neighboring developing cartels such as Mexico and Colombia into cryptocurrency. This scandal continued for almost 3 long years starting from 2020 to mid-2023 and the individuals where involved in bulk cash pickups and crypto transactions.
Sophisticated Money Laundering Scheme
The accused individuals allegedly collected drug proceeds from cities of United States and converted them into cryptocurrency. Then these digital money or assets were transferred to the wallets of the big evil conspirators, it doesn’t end here as the transferred digital asset was again converted back into cash and then transferred to cartel leaders in Mexico and Colombia.
Key Figures and Roles
Court documents and files suggest Nilson Sneyder Vasquez Duarte as a primary criminal and the one who coordinated the scheme. He and his co-conspirators allegedly helped during the deliveries to black-market crypto exchangers, which for sure included Hernan Horacio Richard Samper and Maria Eugenia Landeros Rosas. Not only there but there are several other individuals also served as a medium to physically transporting cash between U.S. cities.
Charges and Penalties
Accused individuals are facing charges for conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an illegal money transfer business. This doesn’t end the charge for some as seven individuals which includes Duarte and Landeros, face even more additional count of substantive money laundering.
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