FLORIDA
A former DEA agent and his wife plead guilty Monday to a 19-count indictment involving drug-related crimes, according to authorities.
Jose Ismael Irizarry, 46, and his wife, Nathalia Gomez-Irizarry, 36, admitted to participating in a seven-year scheme to divert over $9 million in drug proceeds from undercover money-laundering investigations into bank accounts that they and co-conspirators controlled.
Irizarry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, honest services wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, and aggravated identity theft, officials stated.
Gomez-Irizarry pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Irizarry and Gomez-Irizarry are scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
“In a shocking breach of the public’s trust, former DEA Special Agent Jose Irizarry, together with his wife, Nathalia Gomez-Irizarry, abused his position by illegally diverting millions of dollars in drug proceeds from undercover operations to personally benefit themselves,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Sworn law enforcement agents are entrusted with great responsibility, and the department will hold accountable those who exploit their positions to profit from public corruption.”
“Irizarry joined forces with the same criminal drug organizations he promised to investigate and prosecute, “said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak for the Northern District of Georgia. “He and his wife now stand as convicted felons, potentially facing years in federal prison with little to show for the betrayal of his oath to uphold the law.”
“This former federal agent turned his back on the people he swore to protect and caved to greed and deceit,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. McPherson of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office. “The FBI will not tolerate those who abuse the public trust and will persist in safeguarding the American people from public corruption.”
“Rather than upholding his oath to stop drug trafficking and money laundering, Irizarry actively participated in these schemes and collected millions of dollars for himself and his associates,” said Special Agent in Charge James F. Boyersmith of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Miami Field Office. “Irizarry’s conduct enabled criminals, endangered the public, and jeopardized public trust in law enforcement.”
Irizarry filed for personal bankruptcy protection in December of 2010.
As part of his plea, he admitted that soon after his bankruptcy was filed he began to exploit his position of public trust as a special agent to divert funds from undercover DEA money laundering investigations to himself and to co-conspirators.
Diverted funds were then used to purchase jewelry, luxury cars, and a home.
The scheme lasted throughout Irizarry’s assignments to the DEA’s Miami Field Division and to its office in Cartagena, Colombia.
Irizarry resigned from the DEA in January of 2018.
Irizarry further admitted that he and his criminal associates opened a bank account with a stolen identity and then utilized the account to secretly send and receive drug proceeds from active DEA investigations, officials stated.
Gomez-Irizarry admitted that she allowed her bank accounts and a Florida corporation in her name to be used in the scheme.
By his own admission, Irizarry was in personal bankruptcy proceedings for nearly the duration of his criminal conduct and failed to disclose any of his illicit income to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
“Irizarry joined forces with the same criminal drug organizations he promised to investigate and prosecute, “said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak for the Northern District of Georgia. “He and his wife now stand as convicted felons, potentially facing years in federal prison with little to show for the betrayal of his oath to uphold the law.”
“This former federal agent turned his back on the people he swore to protect and caved to greed and deceit,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. McPherson of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office. “The FBI will not tolerate those who abuse the public trust and will persist in safeguarding the American people from public corruption.”
In February, the New York Times reported that Fernando Gomez, another former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to help drug traffickers in Puerto Rico evade law enforcement.
And in 2015, the head of the agency, Michele M. Leonhart, left the position amid outrage over her handling of reports that agents in Colombia had participated in sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels, according to the New York Times.