Wells Fargo banker pleads guilty in $20M Sinaloa laundering

A Wells Fargo personal banker, Luis Fernando Figueroa of Tijuana, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that he laundered nearly $20 million for Mexico-based drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel. Federal prosecutors say the transfers occurred through accounts Figueroa opened at Wells Fargo between 2014 and 2016.

According to the indictment and plea filings, Figueroa used his position to facilitate cash deposits and wire transfers that were routed to a series of Mexico-based shell companies controlled by the money laundering network. Prosecutors contend the deposits were intended to conceal the origin of narcotics proceeds before the funds crossed the border.

The Department of Justice described a broader operation in which couriers collected bulk cash across the United States. The couriers traveled to Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, New Jersey and New York City to pick up sums that ranged from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Meetings took place in private residences and public locations such as parking lots and retail stores, and the cash was often hidden in shopping bags, duffel bags or shoeboxes, the DOJ wrote.

Figueroa faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible $500,000 fine under the federal charges. His guilty plea follows a multiagency investigation into how narcotics proceeds moved from the United States to entities in Mexico through U.S. financial institutions.

The Sinaloa Cartel is a long-established Mexico-based trafficking organization with operations beyond the country’s borders. Prosecutors framed the case around the role of the banker and the courier network that collected and moved bulk cash before wiring it to companies in Mexico.

Wells Fargo has been the subject of multiple legal and regulatory actions since 2008. In this prosecution, federal authorities focused on the conduct of the individual banker and the structure used to process and transmit illicit cash deposits to Mexico.

Earlier this month, the Ohio grand jury indicted two Chinese firms and six people in a fentanyl precursor and crypto laundering case.