Tampa, Florida – Edgar Hurtado-Ramirez (52, Mexico) today pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder monetary instruments and engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Hurtado-Ramirez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Hurtado-Ramirez laundered money for a drug trafficking and money laundering organization (DTMLO) that shipped cocaine from California and Nevada to various points in the eastern United States, including Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, Florida. The DTMLO used couriers to conceal and transport the drug proceeds back to California and Nevada. Hurtado-Ramirez repeatedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cocaine proceeds from money couriers in California and concealed and disguised the nature of the funds and their ownership. Hurtado-Ramirez was arrested in Bogotá, Colombia on September 21, 2019. He was extradited to the United States from Colombia on March 19, 2021
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher F. Murray and Josephine W. Thomas. The U.S. Embassy Bogotá, Colombian authorities, and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs assisted with Hurtado-Ramirez’s extradition.
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