Revere Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Cocaine Charges

 BOSTON – A Revere man pleaded guilty to attempting to launder money to Colombia and cocaine possession.

Jairo Agudelo, 34, pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2020 to money laundering conspiracy, substantive money laundering and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for March 30, 2021. 

According to court documents, investigators seized approximately $200,000 in cash from Agudelo when he attempted to launder drug proceeds from Massachusetts to Colombia in February 2019. When investigators executed a search warrant at a Revere apartment used by Agudelo as a stash house for his cocaine distribution, they located approximately 400 grams of cocaine, as well as drug packaging materials and over $11,000 in cash.

The charges of money laundering and money laundering conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Joleen Simpson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division made the announcement today. Critical assistance was provided by the Boston Police Department; Massachusetts State Police; Revere Police Department; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; and the United States Marshals Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren A. Graber and Jared C. Dolan of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

This investigation, dubbed “Operation Týr,” is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. 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 https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.