AUSTIN, TX—A federal grand jury in the
Western District of Texas has returned an indictment charging 14 defendants,
including Los Zetas leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (aka “40”) and his
brothers, Oscar Omar Trevino Morales (aka “42”) and Jose Trevino-Morales, in
connection with a conspiracy to launder Los Zetas drug distribution proceeds by
purchasing, training, breeding, and racing American quarter horses in the
United States.
Earlier today, federal authorities
arrested seven of the 14 indicted defendants, including 45-year-old Jose
Trevino-Morales and his wife, 38-year-old Zulema Trevino, in Lexington,
Oklahoma; 29-year-old Fernando Solis Garcia in Ruidoso, New Mexico; 26-year-old
Carlos Miguel Nayen Borbolla, 32-year-old Adan Farias and 28-year-old Felipe
Alejandro Quintero in Los Angeles; and 48-year-old Eusevio Maldonado Huitron in
Austin, Texas. All seven remain in federal custody. Miguel Angel Trevino
Morales, age 38, and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, age 36, are believed to be in
Mexico. Other individuals indicted, but not yet arrested, include: 20-year-old
Raul Ramirez of El Paso, Texas; 51-year-old Francisco Antonio Colorado Cessa of
Veracruz, Mexico; 31-year-old Victor Manuel Lopez of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico;
40-year-old Sergio Rogelio Guerrero Rincon of Mexico; and 35-year-old Luis
Gerardo Aguirre of Mexico.
The announcement was made today by U.S.
Attorney Robert Pitman, Richard Weber, Chief, Internal Revenue Service
(IRS)-Criminal Investigation; FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez;
and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Javier Pena.
“The allegations in this indictment, if
proven, would document yet another example of the corrupting influence of
Mexican drug cartels within the United States, facilitated by the enormous
profits generated by the illicit drug trade,” stated U.S. Attorney Pitman.
The indictment, returned May 30, 2012
and unsealed today, charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to
launder monetary instruments. According to the indictment, the Los Zetas are a
powerful drug cartel in Mexico and generate multi-million-dollar revenues from
drug sales. The indictment alleges that since 2008, Miguel and Oscar Trevino
Morales would direct portions of the bulk cash generated from the sale of
illegal narcotics to Jose and Zulema Trevino for purchasing, training,
breeding, and racing American quarter horses in the United States. The
indictment identifies millions of dollars worth of transactions in New Mexico,
Oklahoma, California, and Texas involving a large number of quarter horses.
Jose Trevino, Zulema Trevino, and others used “front” companies to conceal and
disguise the true ownership of the quarter horses.
“This investigation reveals the varied
attempts by Mexican drug cartels to further their criminal enterprises by any
means necessary. As such, the FBI and its partners stand ready to combat all
efforts by transnational criminal organizations to undermine our national
security wherever and whenever they may be uncovered,” stated FBI Special Agent
in Charge Fernandez.
The indictment also seeks the forfeiture
of numerous quarter horses, to include: Tempting Dash, winner of the Dash for
Cash at Lone Star Park race track in Grand Prairie, Texas, on October 24, 2009;
Mr. Piloto, $1 million All American Futurity winner at Ruidoso Downs on Labor
Day 2010; Dashin Follies; Coronita Cartel; and Separate Fire. Furthermore, the
indictment seeks the forfeiture of farm and ranch equipment; horse racing
equipment; real property in Lexington, Oklahoma and in Bastrop County, Texas;
and funds contained in three bank accounts allegedly used in the defendants’
scheme. The indictment also seeks a monetary judgment in the amount of $20
million, representing the amount of money derived from the defendants’ scheme.
“This case is a prime example of the
ability of Mexican drug cartels to establish footholds in legitimate U.S.
industries and highlights the serious threat money laundering causes to our
financial system,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Weber. “This attack on
one of the Zeta’s most profitable money laundering schemes is an essential
front in the war on drugs and will financially disrupt and help dismantle this
violent international criminal organization.”
Upon conviction, the defendants face up
to 20 years in federal prison. All of the defendants remain in federal custody
at this time.
“Laundering drug proceeds through any
financial institution to cover its origin is unlawful.” stated DEA Special
Agent in Charge Peña. “DEA, along with its counterparts, will continue to
investigate drug trafficking and money laundering cases with priority.”
In connection with the indictment, the
Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has today
designated Francisco Antonio Colorado Cessa as a specially designated narcotics
trafficker.
“We have found Francisco Colorado Cessa
to be materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of Los Zetas
and its leaders, Miguel and Omar Trevino Morales,” said OFAC Director Adam J.
Szubin. “Our action cuts Colorado Cessa off from the U.S. financial system, and
it is yet another signal to Miguel and Omar Trevino Morales and the Zetas that
OFAC will target their financial and business network wherever it is found. I
commend the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in its hard-hitting
investigation.”
This continuing investigation is being
conducted by agents with the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the DEA, with
assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and U.S. Border Patrol.
Other judicial districts involved in this matter include the Western District
of Oklahoma, Central District of California, Southern District of Texas,
District of New Mexico, and the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC).
An indictment is merely a charge and
should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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