11 Indicted In $40M Money-Laundering Scheme In Metro Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA -- Federal officials charged 11 people Wednesday with laundering more than $40 million in drug money to Mexican cartels after a three-year investigation, the U.S. Attorney announced.

The probe, which was led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security and the IRS agents, began in 2014 when investigators suspected a group of using money-broker businesses to funnel proceeds from drug deals from the United States back to Mexico.

In a bid to remain undetected, the group would split large sums of cash into smaller transactions, incorporating the use of aliases and false addresses, federal officials said.

“The criminal network uncovered by this investigation laundered millions of dollars in illegal drug proceeds back to Mexico and provided direct support to the drug trafficking organizations plaguing the region with dangerous illicit narcotics and the violence associated with drug trafficking activities,” ICE HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan said in a news release. “HSI will continue to focus investigative efforts on dismantling and bringing to justice members of drug trafficking organizations and all those complicit in their activities.”

After looking into the scheme, Homeland Security special agents in Atlanta were able to see that managers and employees of a number of metro area money remitters and wire transfer businesses were in on the deal: As payment for their willful participation, the businesses were offered kickbacks.

“Using money remitters to launder illegal drug proceeds is just one more way drug cartels fuel their criminal enterprises,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia John Horn said in a statement. “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. This investigation shows that they may have found an effective means through unscrupulous money remitters. We hope these cases will help to close this pipeline.”

The following individuals were arraigned recently in connection with the drug-money laundering scheme, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney:

• Oscar Gustavo Perez-Bernal, 34, of Atlanta. Perez-Bernal was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Tienda and Cocina Linda Vista -- both located in Chamblee. These two stores combined allegedly transmitted more than $16.9 million.
• Itzayana Guadalupe Perez-Bernal, 24, of Norcross. Perez-Bernal was an employee at La Tienda.
• Norma Dominguez, 57, of Atlanta. Dominguez was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at La Veracruzana, located in Chamblee. This store allegedly transmitted more than $5.7 million.
• Norma Carrera, 39, of Atlanta. Carrera was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Hilos y Estambres Teresita, located in Chamblee. This store allegedly transmitted more than $6.1 million.
• Victor Perez, 30, of Lawrenceville. Perez was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Intercargo, which had offices in Lawrenceville and Marietta. This store allegedly transmitted more than $7 million.
• Merli Sandy Tejeda-Bermudez, aka Jorhley Adadlay-Bermudez, 30, of Duluth. Tejeda-Bermudez was the manager and compliance officer at Mundo Cargo and RR Latinas, which were both located in Lawrenceville. This store allegedly transmitted more than $1.5 million.
• Daniel Castaneda-Garcia, 31, of Atlanta. Castaneda-Garcia was the manager and BSA/AML compliance officer at Taqueria el Dany, located in Lawrenceville. This store allegedly transmitted more than $300,000.
• Susan Fiorella Ayala-Chavez, 30, of Lawrenceville. Ayala-Chavez was an employee at the Rainforest Chevron gas station in Lawrenceville. This store allegedly transmitted more than $3 million.
• Lidia Pineda-Altamarino, 32, of Lawrenceville.

The following suspects have been charged with money laundering but are not in custody:

• Norma Eriza-Gomez, 41, of Mexico.
• Marina Eriza-Gomez of Mexico.

Area law enforcement agencies also cooperated in the sting, including the Gwinnett County Police Department, Georgia State Patrol and Powder Springs Police Department.

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