Two Mexican Nationals Sentenced for Roles in Black Market Peso Exchange Money Laundering Scheme

Two Mexican nationals were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison to 55 months each in prison for their roles in a two-year, multimillion-dollar trade-based money laundering conspiracy to move drug trafficking proceeds through Texas to Mexico.

According to court documents, Mauricio Anzures-Zarate, 53, of Mexico City, Mexico, and Beatriz Salcedo-Carreon, 63, of Guadalajara, Mexico, participated in a sophisticated, international money laundering conspiracy to transfer funds from the sale of illegal drugs in the United States to cartels in Mexico without physically transporting money across the U.S.-Mexico border. The conspirators concealed those funds through the movement of goods between the two countries.

“The defendants used an elaborate, trade-based money laundering scheme to exploit our financial system and transfer the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking from the United States to Mexico,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These financial facilitators actively promoted cartel operations in cities across the United States, which enabled the flow of deadly narcotics into our communities. The Criminal Division will continue to pursue the total elimination of cartels and the money launderers who enable their pernicious activities.”

“The lifeblood of any drug trafficking organization is the uninterrupted flow of cash,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas. “Here, defendants laundered drug proceeds through a sophisticated trade-based scheme. This criminal operation, and others like it, put money in the pockets of the cartels and endangered lives on both sides of the border. Taking this conspiracy out of commission is a great win, but it’s just the beginning.”

“Despite the sophisticated tactics used to conceal profits made from smuggling poison into our country by the Mexican cartels, our expertise enabled us to dismantle their thriving operations," said Acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Houston Division. “DEA, along with its federal counterparts, has dealt a significant blow to the finances of the Mexican cartels through the incredible investigative work of our agents. If we trace your money activities back to the cartels, you will have your day in court and will face justice.”

“Anzures-Zarate and Salcedo-Carreon thought they could escape justice, but found our reach extends past the money trail they left,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office. “They conspired to use black market peso exchanges, which are one of the classic methods to launder drug dollars, and a method that leaves a traceable trail to the cartels. For businesses that get approached for a quick cash sale to transport goods into Central and South America, remember that we will find you because your greed leaves evidence.”

According to court documents, the defendants directed money couriers to collect drug proceeds in numerous U.S. cities and then transfer the funds to Laredo, Texas, to be laundered through local businesses. As part of the scheme, store owners in downtown Laredo accepted the drug proceeds as payment for merchandise to be exported to businesses in Mexico. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Salcedo-Carreon, Anzures-Zarate, and others instructed the Mexican businesses to transfer pesos to accounts or people in Mexico who were affiliated with cartels. Through this trade-based money laundering scheme, Mexican cartels disguised illicit drug proceeds as legitimate international commercial transactions and received laundered drug proceeds in Mexico without physically transporting cash across the U.S.-Mexico border. Eight other defendants were previously convicted and sentenced for their roles in the money laundering conspiracy. Anzures-Zarate was ordered to pay a money judgement of $1,176,165 and Salcedo-Carreon was ordered to pay a money judgement of $887,269.

The DEA and IRS-CI investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in this matter. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and April 2024 extradition of Salcedo-Carreon.

Trial Attorneys Keith H. Liddle and Stephanie Williamson of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lance Watt, Amanda Gould, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno for the Southern District of Texas prosecuted the case.