A 60-year-old Mexican national pleaded guilty today for his involvement in a conspiracy to collect more than $1.9 million in U.S. drug proceeds and transfer the money back to Mexico using cryptocurrency and wire transfers.
According to court documents, Daniel Gordiano Valenzuela acted as a “money broker” for an organization that laundered funds on behalf of drug traffickers. While residing in Mexico, Gordiano Valenzuela arranged the laundering of $1,973,076 generated from drug sales.
Federal prosecutors said Gordiano Valenzuela used a network of co-conspirators to pick up bulk cash across the United States. Once the cash was delivered, he issued instructions to transfer the funds to Mexico via wire transfers or cryptocurrency.
In exchange, he received a commission based on a percentage of the successfully laundered money.
Gordiano Valenzuela pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. He is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 19, where he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph O. Dixon of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Detroit Field Division.
The case was investigated by the DEA Detroit Field Division and IRS Criminal Investigation Detroit. They worked alongside the DEA Austin Residence Office and Lexington Residence Office, with additional support provided by the DEA’s Special Operations Division and DEA offices located in Mexico, Houston, Tulsa, Chicago, and Youngstown, Ohio.
Deputy Chief Elizabeth R. Rabe of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Deputy Chief Gary Todd Bradbury of the Eastern District of Kentucky are serving as prosecutors on the case.
According to the Justice Department, the MNF section focuses on prosecuting financial facilitators, international money launderers, and leadership within international drug trafficking organizations, as well as recovering criminal assets to remove the profit motive from transnational crime.
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