Southern District of Texas | 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 charges, U.S. Attorney Alamdar H. Hamdani announced.

Mexican national Victor Miguel Curiel Valadez admitted to money laundering, possession of meth for distribution and ties to the CJNG.

Members and associates of the CJNG hired Valadez to smuggle drug proceeds from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia back to Mexico.

From 2016 to 2019, Valadez recruited others in Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas City, Missouri, and other cities in the United States to collect drug proceeds in the United States. These individuals had drug proceeds in their possession that were to be transferred to Mexico. Valadez then coordinated the transfer of the proceeds back to Mexico through financial institutions.

Valadez and his accomplices laundered more than $1.5 million in drug proceeds during the conspiracy.

He also admitted in February 2018 that he negotiated and coordinated the distribution of three kilograms of meth and then directed an accomplice 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 lethal substances – cocaine, heroin, meth and fentanyl – and relies on money launderers and drug distributors, like Valadez, to launder their ill-gotten gains and infect local communities with drugs,” Hamdani said. “This prosecution should serve as a warning to Mexican cartels about my office’s focus on dismantling and disrupting their operations, while holding accountable anyone who attempts to launder money and supply dangerous drugs that are destroying our neighborhoods and communities.”

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison set sentencing for Nov. 20. At that time, Valadez faces up to life in federal prison and a possible fine of up to $10 million for the drug conviction. He also faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater, for the money laundering conspiracy.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation. Such cooperative cases provide for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model allows agents from multiple agencies to work together on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle top drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Houston Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations designated as Consolidated Priority Organization or Regional Priority Organization Targets 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.