Feds: 9 in metro Atlanta sent $40M in drug money to Mexican cartels
Correction (7/27/17): This story initially misstated when the Justice Department alleges Victor Perez illegally transmitted $7 million to Mexico. The Justice Department alleged that happened between 2013 and 2015. Perez is no longer associated with the company named in the indictment.
Original story: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that nine people from Gwinnett County, DeKalb County and Atlanta have been indicted on money laundering charges.
They are accused of funneling drug money through businesses and sending it to Mexico. Multiple suspects worked as Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance officers, responsible for reporting money laundering and other “illicit financial transactions,” a Justice Department release said.
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The nine metro small business managers and employees used fake addresses and phone numbers to wire more than $40 million to Mexico in exchange for kickbacks, the Justice Department said. The transactions were kept to small amounts of money in order to avoid detection, the release said.
Two Mexican nationals have also been indicted, but have not yet been apprehended by authorities.
“The business model of many Mexican cartels requires a means to get their cash profits across the border and into the hands of the supervisors and sellers,” U. S. Attorney John Horn said in the release. “... We hope these cases will help to close this pipeline.”
Those indicted are:
- Oscar Gustavo Perez-Bernal, 34, of Atlanta. Oscar Perez-Bernal was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Tienda and Cocina Linda Vista in Chamblee. These two stores transmitted more than $16.9 million between 2013 and 2017, the Justice Department said.
- Itzayana Guadalupe "Lupe" Perez-Bernal, 24, of Norcross. Itzayana Perez-Bernal worked at La Tienda.
- Norma Dominguez, 57, of Atlanta. Dominguez was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Veracruzana in Chamblee. Veracruzana transmitted more than $5.7 million between 2013 and 2017, the Justice Department said.
- Norma Carrera, 39, of Atlanta. Carrera was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Hilos y Estambres Teresita in Chamblee. Hilos y Estambres Teresita transmitted more than $6.1 million between 2014 and 2017, the Justice Department said.
- Victor Perez, 30, of Lawrenceville. Perez was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Intercargo, which had offices in Lawrenceville and Marietta. Intercargo transmitted more than $7 million between 2013 and 2015, the Justice Department said.
- Merli Sandy Tejeda-Bermudez, also known as Jorhley Adadlay-Bermudez, 30, of Duluth. Tejeda-Bermudez was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Mundo Cargo and RR Latinas, both located in Lawrenceville. These stores transmitted more than $1.5 million between 2015 and 2017, the Justice Department said.
- Daniel Castaneda-Garcia, 31, of Atlanta. Castaneda-Garcia was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Taqueria el Dany in Lawrenceville. In 2015, this store transmitted more than $300,000, the Justice Department said.
- Susan Fiorella "Pitus" Ayala-Chavez, 30, of Lawrenceville. Ayala-Chavez was an employee at the Rainforest Chevron gas station in Lawrenceville. The Rainforest Chevron transmitted more than $3 million between 2014 and 2017, the Justice Department said.
- Lidia "Lily" Pineda-Altamarino, 32, of Lawrenceville
- Norma Eriza-Gomez, 41, of Mexico
- Marina Eriza-Gomez of Mexico (no age provided)
“The criminal network uncovered by this investigation ... provided direct support to the drug trafficking organizations plaguing the region with dangerous illicit narcotics and the violence associated with drug trafficking activities,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan said in the release.
