Mexico Extradites Accused Money Launderer and Methamphetamine Dealer to Colorado for Prosecution

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that Raul Rodriguez-Romero, 32, formerly of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was extradited from Mexico to Denver, Colorado, so he can face money laundering and drug charges. The defendant made his initial appearance in federal court in Denver yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak.

The indictment charges the defendant with distributing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in November 2015.  It also charges the defendant with eleven counts of money laundering, alleging that between May and October 2015, the defendant took money that was represented to be the proceeds of methamphetamine trafficking and then used checks drawn on bank accounts to conceal and disguise the fact that it was drug money.  If convicted of distributing methamphetamine, the defendant faces not less than 10 years in prison, as well as up to a $10,000,000 fine.  If convicted of money laundering, the defendant faces not more than 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 on each count.

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Fields and Candyce Cline, District of Colorado, Denver, with substantial assistance from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs in Washington, D.C.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

CASE NUMBER:  16-cr-266

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