Summary:
Nine individuals indicted for laundering cash into cryptocurrency for drug cartels.
Nilson Sneyder Vasquez Duarte identified as the main coordinator of the operation.
Charges include conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Collaboration between Broward Sheriff's Office and federal agencies led to the indictment.
Evidence collected spans from 2020 to 2023.
MIAMI – A grand jury has indicted nine individuals for conspiring to launder U.S. currency into cryptocurrency on behalf of drug cartels and for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, as announced by prosecutors on Wednesday.
The federal indictment names Nilson Sneyder Vasquez Duarte, also known as “Sobrino,” as the coordinator of cash and cryptocurrency deliveries to cartels in Mexico and Colombia. Duarte, aged 34, was reportedly in contact with black market cryptocurrency exchangers who acted as couriers, responsible for picking up and delivering cash derived from drug sales.
The other eight individuals indicted include Hernan Samper, Maria Landeros, Raimundo Rodriguez, Mayccol Morales, Hernan Calvo, Sergio Vargas, Juan Riano, and Jesus Rincon.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies collaborated with federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division to gather evidence of criminal activities spanning from 2020 to 2023.
All nine defendants face charges of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
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