Two South Texas Men Sentenced for their role in Extortion and Attempted Money Laundering Conspiracy

          FORT WORTH, Texas — Nygul Anderson, 19, and Albert Gonzalez, 19, were sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, to 36 and 30 months, respectively, in federal prison, announced Erin Nealy Cox U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Texas.

          Following a one-day bench trial in March 2018, Judge O’Connor convicted both Anderson and Gonzalez of conspiracy to use an interstate facility to commit a travel act violation, conspiracy to possess extortion proceeds and money laundering. Co-conspirator Fernando Cabrera pled guilty in December 2017 and was sentenced in April 2018 to fourteen months in federal prison.

          According to the evidence presented at trial and the documents filed in this case, on September 22, 2017, a victim began receiving threatening calls from an unrecognizable Mexican telephone number.  The caller stated he had kidnapped the victim’s two brothers in Rioverde, San Luis Potosi, Mexico and demanded $300,000 or they would be killed.  The ransom demand was lowered to $20,000, and the victim ultimately paid and delivered the ransom, per the kidnapper’s instructions. The kidnapped brothers were then recovered from being tied up in a motel room in Rioverde, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

          Seven days later, on September 29, 2017, the same victim received another call from the unrecognizable Mexican telephone number demanding an additional $100,000 otherwise; they would again kidnap the brothers and kill them.  The Mexico kidnapper contacted co-conspirator Cabrera to travel to Fort Worth to pick up the money.  Cabrera then recruited his friend, Gonzalez, and they in turn recruited Anderson and a 17-year-old minor to pick up the money.

          Shortly thereafter, Cabrera, Gonzalez, Anderson, Cabrera, and a 17-year-old minor – were arrested as they attempted to collect the ransom money.

          This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Richland Hills Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl and Chris Wolfe were in charge of the prosecution.