Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Laundering More than $1.9 Million in Drug Proceeds

A Mexican national pleaded guilty today for his role in the collection of more than $1.9 million in drug proceeds in the United States and the return of those proceeds via cryptocurrency or wire transfers to Mexico as part of a money laundering conspiracy. According to court documents, Daniel Gordiano Valenzuela, 60, who was residing in Mexico at the time of his arrest, served as a “money broker” in an organization that conspired with drug traffickers to launder money for them in Mexico. Gordiano Valenzuela personally arranged for the laundering of $1, 973,076 from the sale of drugs and used a network of co-conspirators to pick up the drug proceeds throughout the United States. After delivery of the bulk cash, he provided instructions for the transfer of those funds via cryptocurrency or wire transfer and then received a “commission,” or percentage of the money laundered successfully. Gordiano Valenzuela pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 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 (DEA) Detroit Field Division made the announcement. The DEA Detroit Field Division and IRS Criminal Investigation Detroit investigated the case, working closely with the DEA Austin Residence Office and Lexington Residence Office with assistance from DEA’s Special Operations Division and DEA offices in Mexico, Houston, Tulsa, Chicago, and Youngstown, Ohio. Deputy Chief Elizabeth R. Rabe of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Deputy Chief Gary Todd Bradbury of the Eastern District of Kentucky are prosecuting the case. The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations. MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims. This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.