Colombian National Pleads Guilty to a Money Laundering Conspiracy

A Colombian national pleaded guilty today to a seven-year money laundering conspiracy involving the purchase of consumer electronics using drug proceeds. According to court documents, Andrelio Castaño Rojas, 55, of Colombia, from January 2018 through March 2025, conspired to launder drug trafficking proceeds using a currency exchange scheme. Rojas opened U.S. bank accounts for two of his U.S. companies and arranged for his business accounts to receive drug proceeds through bank wires and bulk cash deposits. Rojas used these funds to purchase consumer electronics that he exported to Colombia. Rojas pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy. Sentencing is set for Jan. 22, 2027. He 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 Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Chief of Operations Matthew Allen of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement. The DEA Norfolk Resident Office and Miami Field Division are investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Yuliana Reyes and Mark Irish of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Hudson for the Eastern District of Virginia 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.