BOSTON – A Colombian National pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a conspiracy to launder money from various international locations back to Colombia.
Pedro Mejia Salazar, 73, of Medellin, Colombia, was charged with one count of conspiracy to launder money. Mejia arrived in Boston from Colombia on May 3, 2017, and appeared in U.S. District Court in Boston yesterday to plead guilty to the charge against him. Mejia’s sentencing was set for July 27, 2017.
According to court documents, Mejia used a family business, which he ran, to launder drug proceeds for and on behalf of the criminal syndicate La Oficina de Envigado, based in Medellin, Colombia. Between May 2009 and June 2012, Mejia laundered at least $768,586 in drug proceeds at the direction of Colombian-based money brokers working for La Oficina.
Mejia controlled a series of bank accounts, which he used to launder drug proceeds and deliver them for the benefit of Colombian-based drug trafficking organizations. Mejia’s criminal activity was uncovered with the help of a cooperating source and an undercover federal agent who posed as a money broker. The undercover agent agreed to receive bulk cash from money couriers working for Colombian-based drug trafficking organizations and then send the money through Mejia’s business accounts. The ultimate recipients of the funds were the Colombian narco-traffickers and the money brokers that work for them. Once the undercover agent received bulk cash from money couriers, the agent would call Mejia, who directed the agent to transfer the cash to a series of accounts Mejia controlled. After the wire transfers were completed, Mejia withdrew the money from the accounts he controlled and distributed it in Colombia to whomever originally arranged the pick-up, either drug trafficking organizations or money brokers.
The charge of conspiracy to launder money provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the offense. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is part of Operation Powerplay, an international undercover investigation targeting Colombia-based money brokers who launder drug proceeds for international drug trafficking organizations. The investigation targeted drug traffickers who import drugs into the United States and money launderers who use the international financial system and the Black Market Peso Exchange to return drug proceeds collected in the United States and other countries to Colombia. To date, the investigation has resulted in the seizure of approximately $15.2 million, 3,967 kilograms of cocaine, 32,000 doses of MDMA, nine kilograms of methamphetamine, 1,183 kilograms of marijuana, and 7.8 kilograms of heroin.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorneys Leah B. Foley and Nathaniel R. Mendell of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.