Mexican national admits laundering $1.5 million on behalf of Cartel

HOUSTON – A 40-year-old associate of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar H. Hamdani.

Mexican national Victor Miguel Curiel Valadez admitted to conspiring to launder monetary instruments, possession with intent to distribute meth and that he was an associate of the CJNG.

Members and associates of the CJNG hired Valadez to retrieve drug proceeds in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia and move them back to Mexico.

From 2016 to 2019, Valadez recruited others in Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas City, Missouri, and other cities across the United States to pick up drug proceeds in the United States. Those individuals were in possession of drug proceeds that needed to be moved to Mexico. Valadez then coordinated the transfer of proceeds back to Mexico through financial institutions.

Valadez and co-conspirators laundered more than $1.5 million in drug proceeds during the course of the conspiracy.

He also admitted in February 2018 that he negotiated and coordinated the distribution of three kilograms of meth. He proceeded to direct a co-conspirator to deliver the meth to an individual in Houston.

“The CJNG is one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico, characterized by a business model of extreme violence and trafficking in the most deadly of substances - cocaine, heroin, meth and fentanyl - relying on money launderers and drug distributors, like Valadez, to wash its ill-gotten gains and infect local communities with drugs,” said Hamdani. “This prosecution should serve as a warning to the Mexican cartels of my office’s focus on dismantling and disrupting their operations, while holding to account anyone who seeks to help launder monies and deliver dangerous drugs that destroy our neighborhoods and communities.”  

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison has set sentencing for Nov. 20. At that time, Valadez faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $1o million maximum fine for the drug conviction. He also faces up to 20 years and a $500,000 maximum fine or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater, for the money laundering conspiracy.  

Homeland Security Investigations conducted investigation as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation. These such cooperative matters provide for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Houston Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the drug trafficking organizations that are designated as Consolidated Priority Organization or Regional Priority Organization Targets and that impact Houston and south Texas. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anibal J. Alaniz and Casey N. MacDonald are prosecuting the case.