A Colombian man who participated in a sophisticated scheme to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds from the United States will go to prison for more than nine years, a federal judge ruled Thursday. Vicente Sancivieri Cervantes, 46, pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges in August…
Cervantes arranged for a courier to deliver money to the informant in California and then provided instructions to send the money to a variety of different accounts, according to court records.
The plan, according to court records, was to get the money to drug traffickers in Colombia through a black market peso exchange by swapping dollars for pesos. The arrangement allows Colombian businesses to pay their debts in U.S. currency and avoid local taxes and duties that apply to currency conversions through government-regulated institutions.
The informant working with Homeland Security agents told his handlers that the other broker – identified only as Jorge in court documents – spoke to him about laundering $7 million in drug money for the Los Angeles area.
Hambright said her client does not know the other broker. The indictment against Cervantes listed 22 transactions from October to December in 2009, totaling $888,739.
Detailed news link: click here