Seattle – The leader of a violent, prolific drug trafficking ring was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering and...

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Twenty-four defendants have been charged with marijuana distribution, money laundering, firearms, and related offenses in an indictment returned last month. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A St. Louis man was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison after admitting to his involvement in a methamphetamine operation in southern Illinois. Terrence Thompson, 35, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. According to court records, Thompson...

CHICAGO — Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago Division, and U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr., for the Northern District of Illinois announced that a drug trafficker who conspired with his father and several others to operate a cocaine delivery service in the Chicago area...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson, Police Chief of the Atlantic City PD James A. Sarkos, Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds, and Executive Director of the Liberty Mid-Atlantic HIDTA Jeremiah Daley announced a months-long investigation into the...

EL PASO, Texas – A federal jury convicted two men Tuesday of multiple counts of drug trafficking. Additionally, one of the defendants was convicted of domestic and international money laundering. Jorge Sanchez-Morales aka “Capulina,” 47, was convicted of two counts of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute; two counts...

CHICAGO — Robert J. Bell, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago Field Division, and U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr., of the Northern District fof Illinois announced that a federal judge has sentenced a suburban Chicago man to seven years in federal prison for laundering illegal narcotics proceeds...

PHOENIX – On September 28, 2022, a grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona, returned a 34-count indictment against nine individuals, including: Yvette Porras-Ochoa, 40, of Wittmann, Arizona Ricardo Ochoa, 41, of Mesa, Arizona Kourtney Moore, 40, of Akron, Ohio George Martinez-Aviles, M.D., 55, of Peoria, Arizona Vanessa Quijada, 36, of Phoenix...

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Virginia Garcia Moreta (35, Tampa) and Hector Rodriguez Mendez (47, Tampa) to 70 and 63 months in federal prison, respectively, for conspiring to commit money laundering. As part of their sentences, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in...

NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced criminal charges today against 42 defendants related to racketeering, violence, narcotics distribution, and federal firearms offenses. The charges stem from five separate investigations conducted by federal, state and local enforcement partners. “Keeping New Jersey safe and reducing violent crime are core...