The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Gabriel Arturo Castillo, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in a two-year, multimillion-dollar trade-based money laundering scheme that moved drug trafficking proceeds through Texas to Mexico. Court documents describe a black-market peso exchange arrangement in which large amounts of U.S. dollar drug proceeds were collected in U.S. cities and either deposited into bank accounts or transported to Laredo, Texas, then sold to Mexican business owners who used the cash to buy goods from U.S. stores, including perfume sellers. The merchandise was shipped from Laredo to Mexico, and Mexican pesos were transferred in Mexico to drug trafficking organizations, allowing cartels to receive proceeds in pesos while concealing the source of funds. Castillo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7 and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs coordinated with Mexican partners to secure Castillo’s arrest and his extradition in August 2025.
U.S. Department of Justice 2026-04-08
U.S. Department of Justice secures guilty plea in multimillion-dollar trade-based money laundering conspiracy using a black-market peso exchange
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Mexican national Gabriel Arturo Castillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in a two-year, multimillion-dollar trade-based scheme moving drug trafficking proceeds through Texas to Mexico. According to court documents, the scheme used a black-market peso exchange involving U.S. dollar drug proceeds, U.S. merchandise purchases, and peso transfers in Mexico to conceal the source of funds for drug trafficking organizations.