Enrique Cavazos will Forfeit Proceeds of Drug Trafficking
and Money Laundering Activities, Including Property, Vehicles, Cash and Other
Assets Valued at more than $1,883,500
ALBUQUERQUE – Enrique S. Cavazos, 32, of Tijeras, N.M., was
sentenced late yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to
six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his
conviction on marijuana trafficking and money laundering conspiracy
charges. Cavazos also was ordered to
forfeit the proceeds of his drug trafficking and money laundering activities,
including real estate, vehicles, cash, weapons, and jewelry, valued at more
than $1,883,500.
U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge
Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, Special Agent in Charge Ismael
Nevarez, Jr., of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation, and
Chief Michael Geier of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), announced
Enrique Cavazos’ sentence.
Enrique Cavazos was arrested in Nov. 2015, after a federal
grand jury filed a 26-count indictment charging him, his wife, Lindsey A.
Cavazos, 33, and six others with marijuana trafficking and money laundering
charges. The indictment was the result
of a two-year investigation by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation and APD into
a drug trafficking organization led by Enrique Cavazos that distributed
high-grade marijuana throughout New Mexico and across the country. The investigation revealed that the Cavazos
drug trafficking organization cultivated and purchased high-grade marijuana in
California, distributed the marijuana throughout the country, and laundered its
drug proceeds through a number of businesses and bank accounts in New Mexico.
According to the indictment, Enrique and Lindsey Cavazos and
six co-conspirators participated in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy that
existed from at least Jan. 2008 through Nov. 2015, and operated in the District
of New Mexico and elsewhere. The
indictment alleged that Enrique Cavazos operated his marijuana trafficking
business by directing co-conspirators to purchase large quantities of marijuana
in California and distribute the marijuana in New Mexico and other destinations
across the country. It further alleged
that Lindsey Cavazos was responsible for keeping the books on businesses she
and her husband established with proceeds from their marijuana trafficking
activities and for the purpose of laundering their drug proceeds. The indictment charged the couple with
engaging in a money laundering conspiracy and using bank accounts in the names
of several of their businesses, including a restaurant and a car dealership, to
launder their drug proceeds.
The indictment was superseded in Aug. 2016, to add money
laundering charges against three new defendants: Steven Becerra, 62, the owner of the Becerra
Group Tax and Accounting Firm in Albuquerque, who previously was employed by
the IRS for 18 years; Deborah Gutierrez, 55, who operated Automated Financial
Technologies, which is no longer in business; and Glen F. Lucero, 66, a retired
school teacher. The superseding
indictment also removed Felix Cavazos, Enrique Cavazos’s father who passed away
after the original indictment was filed, from the list of defendants.
On May 24, 2017, Enrique Cavazos pled guilty to a drug
trafficking conspiracy charge and a money laundering conspiracy charge. In his plea agreement, Cavazos admitted
participating in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana between Jan. 2008 and
Nov. 2015, and acknowledged that the conspiracy included the cultivation,
shipment and sale of marijuana to wholesalers and end-use customers. Enrique Cavazos also admitted conspiring with
others from Jan. 2009 through Nov. 2015, to launder the cash proceeds from his
marijuana distribution conspiracy, and engaging in numerous financial
transactions using his drug proceeds, which were designed to conceal the
nature, source and ownership of the illegal proceeds.
Also on May 24, 2017, Lindsey Cavazos entered a guilty plea
to a money laundering conspiracy charge.
In her plea agreement, she admitted that from Jan. 2009 through Nov.
2015, she conspired with others to launder the cash proceeds from marijuana
distribution. Like her husband, Lindsey
Cavazos admitted engaging in numerous financial transactions using drug
proceeds, which were designed to conceal the nature, source and ownership of
the illegal proceeds. Lindsey Cavazos’
plea agreement recommends that she be sentenced to a five-year term of
probation. A sentencing hearing for
Lindsey Cavazos has not been scheduled.
As part of their plea agreements, the Cavazos agreed to
forfeit property derived, either directly or indirectly, from proceeds obtained
from their drug trafficking and money laundering activities including:
The Tijeras, N.M.,
residence of Enrique and Lindsey Cavazos, valued at $468,000;
Two parcels of
real property located on Grand Avenue in Las Vegas, N.M., valued at $227,032;
A parcel of real
property located on 12th Street in Las Vegas, N.M., valued at $42,500;
A parcel of real
property located on Grant Street in Las Vegas, N.M., valued at $50,000;
A parcel of real
estate located at 8th Street and Sperry Street in Las Vegas, N.M., valued at
$229,000;
The funds,
totaling approximately $104,513.21, in nine bank accounts in the names of
companies owned and controlled by Enrique and Lindsey Cavazos;
18 vehicles with
an aggregate value of $177,500;
Two Rolex watches
valued at $35,600;
Three pieces of
sapphire and diamond jewelry owned by Lindsey Cavazos valued at $1,025.33;
$473,040 in cash;
and
The fixtures and
equipment from Café Bien, a restaurant formerly located on Central Avenue, SW,
in Albuquerque, N.M., that was owned and operated by Enrique and Lindsey
Cavazos.
Two of the Cavazos’ co-defendants have entered guilty pleas,
and one has been sentenced. Antonio
Ruelas, 33, of Rio Rancho, N.M., pled guilty on Sept. 8, 2017, and was
sentenced on May 2, 2018, to 30 months in federal prison followed by three
years of supervised release. Daniel
Nieto, 40, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty on May 25, 2017, and is scheduled for
sentencing on May 24, 2018.
The remaining six defendants, who have entered not guilty
pleas to the superseding indictment, are pending trial, which has yet to be
scheduled. Charges in indictments are
merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation of this case was designated as part of the
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a program that
combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with
their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle
major drug trafficking organizations. It
was conducted by the Albuquerque offices of the FBI and IRS Criminal
Investigation and the APD. Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Rozzoni, Timothy S. Vasquez and Joel R. Meyers are
prosecuting the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kotz is handling
the forfeiture matters.
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