LOS ANGELES
A federal jury on Tuesday convicted Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez, 57, of conspiracy to launder money, which involved transferring millions of dollars in narcotics-related funds from the US to international drug trafficking organizations, officials announced.
According to officials, Aldana-Martinez accepted wire transfers of drug proceeds directed by traffickers from a DEA agent-run covert account.
After nearly $300,000 was sent to a bank account in the name of his bogus business, Aldana-Martinez made a series of wire transfers to unrelated companies to pay for electronic items that were then shipped to Colombia and Mexico, where they were sold to produce laundered funds for the drug traffickers. The evidence showed that Aldana-Martinez laundered approximately $15.5 million between 2015 and 2017.
Daniel Shaun Zilke, 48, of Mexico City, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and abet drug distribution, conspiracy to launder money, and obstruction of an official government proceeding for stealing and attempting to cover up the theft of $150,000 in DEA undercover funds.
The three defendants each face potential sentences of decades in federal prison.
