Six Passaic County residents have been charged Wednesday for his or her roles in a large cash laundering scheme that allegedly transformed over $27 million in money from unlawful drug gross sales into cashier’s checks on behalf of worldwide drug trafficking organizations, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace introduced.
From July 2016 to January 2019, the group allegedly bought roughly 1,059 cashier’s checks, which have been used as a mechanism to switch drug proceeds out of the USA, authorities mentioned. The checks, authorities mentioned, have been made payable to people and firms specified by cash brokers engaged on behalf of drug trafficking organizations with ties to the Dominican Republic, Colombia and elsewhere.
In keeping with the legal grievance, the six folks charged Wednesday labored for an unidentified “cash dealer.” The dealer organized to choose up thousands and thousands of dollars in money from drug proceeds in and round New Jersey, New York and elsewhere earlier than dividing the cash into smaller quantities to be distributed to these tasked with buying cashier’s checks, authorities mentioned.
They have been usually paid roughly $150 to $200 per examine bought, in accordance with the legal grievance.
Changing money into cashier’s checks was used “to hide the character, supply, possession, and management of the illicit money drug proceeds,” the legal grievance says.
Felicia Almonte, 54, of Passaic, Erickson Checo-Almonte, 29, of Passaic, Julio De La Cruz-Acosta, 40, of Paterson, Willy Cruz-Bonilla, 22, of Paterson, Jordano Abreu-Diaz, 24, of Paterson, and Enmanuel Nunez-Reyes, 26, of Paterson, have been all charged with one rely of conspiracy to launder drug proceeds and one rely of working an unlicensed cash transmitting enterprise.
The cost of cash laundering carries a most penalty of 20 years in jail and the cost of working an unlicensed cash transmitting enterprise carries a most jail sentence of 5 years, assistant U.S. Lawyer Jonathan Peck mentioned in Newark federal courtroom Wednesday.
Almonte, in accordance with the legal grievance, allegedly bought essentially the most cashier’s checks of the group. From August 2016 to November 2017, she allegedly transformed practically $four.5 million in money into 158 cashier’s checks. On Aug. 16, 2017, Almonte allegedly bought 5 cashier’s checks with money totaling $127,410, in accordance tot he legal grievance.
Every of the defendants charged Wednesday allegedly transformed greater than $1 million in money into cashier’s checks, in accordance with the legal grievance.
Abreu-Diaz was the one defendant who didn’t seem earlier than U.S. Justice of the Peace Decide James B. Clark Wednesday. He’s set to look later within the week, in accordance with the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
The opposite 5 have been every launched on $75,000 unsecured look bonds.
Joe Atmonavage could also be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Observe on Twitter @monavage.
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