Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SAN DIEGO – Two federal grand jury indictments were unsealed in San Diego today against five alleged Sinaloa Cartel money launderers, including Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez, Israel Daniel Paez Vargas, Salvador Diaz Rodriguez, Christopher Ortega-Lomeli, and Christian Noe Amador Valenzuela. The indictments, returned in September and October 2022, charge the defendants with multiple drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. All defendants remain fugitives.
To date, these money laundering investigations have resulted in charges against 51 defendants and the seizure of more than $4.1 million dollars and approximately 1,304 kilograms of methamphetamine, 34 kilograms of heroin, 11 kilograms of cocaine, and 14 kilograms of fentanyl.
Four of the defendants – Benguiat Jimenez, Paez Vargas, Diaz Rodriguez and Amador Valezuela – along with Enrique Dann Esparragoza Rosas, who was previously charged, were also the target of sanctions imposed today by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
OFAC has identified the defendants and others as members of a money laundering network supporting the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most notorious and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world, and a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States and has exploited multiple ports of entry along the southern border for its criminal activities. Please see https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0064.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Imperial Country District Office and Mexico City Country Office, along with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation San Diego Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation San Diego Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations Calexico Office, and San Diego – Imperial County HIDTA are investigating these cases with assistance from the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Sutton, Joshua Mellor, Victor White, and Paul Benjamin. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Owen Roth provided substantial assistance in these cases.
DEFENDANTS
Case Number 22-cr-02386-TWR
Israel Daniel Paez Vargas Age: 45 Mexicali, MX
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960 and 963.
Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison, $10 million fine.
Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846.
Maximum Penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison, $10 million fine.
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h).
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
Case Number 22-cr-02387-TWR
Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez Age: 43 Mexico City, MX
Salvador Diaz Rodriguez Age: 39 Mexicali, MX
Christian Noe Amador Valenzuela Age: 36 Mexicali, MX Christopher Ortega-Lomeli Age: 38 Mexicali, MX
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §1956(h).
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
Case Number 22-cr-02185-BAS
Enrique Dann Esparragoza Rosas Age: 39 Culiacan, MX
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §1956(h).
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved.
Hobbs Act Extortion, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)
Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, and $250,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Drug Enforcement Administration
Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Homeland Security Investigations
San Diego – Imperial County HIDTA
Imperial Valley Law Enforcement Coordination Center – Intelligence
Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs
Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, provides coordination and assistance to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This grant program is administered by the Executive Office of the President – Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). There are currently 33 HIDTAs, and HIDTA-designated counties are located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.
MIL Security OSI –