A Mexican citizen pleaded guilty for his participation in collecting more than $1.9 million from drug trafficking in the United States and subsequently sending it to Mexico through cryptocurrencies or bank transfers.
According to court documents, Daniel Gordiano Valenzuela, 60, who was residing in Mexico at the time of his arrest, worked as a financial intermediary in an organization that conspired with drug traffickers to launder money in Mexico.
According to a press release, Gordiano Valenzuela personally organized the laundering of $1.9 million from drug sales and used a network of accomplices to collect the money throughout the United States.
Upon delivery of the cash, he would provide instructions for transferring those funds via cryptocurrency or bank transfers and then receive a commission, that is, a percentage of the money successfully laundered.
Gordiano Valenzuela pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 19 and he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The DEA Detroit Field Division and the IRS Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Detroit investigated the case, working closely with DEA offices in Austin and Lexington, with assistance from the DEA Special Operations Division and DEA offices in Mexico, Houston, Tulsa, Chicago, and Youngstown, Ohio.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative, an intergovernmental alliance dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human trafficking and smuggling networks operating in the United States and abroad.
Through a historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF mobilizes the full power of American law enforcement to identify, investigate and prosecute the entirety of crimes committed by these organizations.
