Leopoldo Lora-Aguilera, a former personal banker with Wells Fargo Bank, was sentenced in federal court today to 33 months in custody for money laundering conspiracy and bank fraud. The FBI arrested Aguilera for his participation in an international money laundering organization based in Tijuana, Mexico which operated primarily in San Diego. The organization laundered funds in excess of $12.5 million before being disrupted by the FBI.
According to Aguilera's plea agreement and other public records, he used his position of trust as a personal banker with Wells Fargo Bank to open bank accounts with false identities and wire transfer millions of dollars to Mexico in exchange for cash payments from the criminal organization. The FBI's investigation linked these funds to the sale of narcotics by a Mexican drug cartel, specifically the sale of multi-kilogram amounts of fentanyl in the Midwest.
Aguilera admitted to opening 26 bank accounts for the laundering scheme, eleven of which were created using fictitious identities. He used his position as a personal banker to knowingly enter false names, passport numbers, and dates of birth on these accounts; these accounts alone were used to wire transfer a total of $3.8 million to Mexico. A majority of these wire transfers were conducted by Aguilera himself. Wells Fargo identified and brought Aguilera's use of the fictitious accounts to the attention of the FBI, resulting in Aguilera's arrest and the disruption of the scheme.
Alongside Aguilera's arrest, the FBI identified and seized 17 bank accounts belonging to the money laundering organization containing more than $230,000. Further investigation by the FBI resulted in the arrest of Melisa Valdivia Diaz, Alma Leticia Murillo Valdivia, and Jorge Alberto Ortiz Borrego in a related case. All three have pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy and their sentencings are pending.
U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman stated, 'Money launderers are a lifeblood of the cartels. Today’s sentencing underscores that money launderers are key players in the cartel structure and will be treated as such'. He thanked the prosecution team and the FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force for their work on the case. Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office stated, 'Although Lara-Aguilera was convicted on the financial aspect of these crimes, his actions directly facilitated the trafficking of fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics throughout our country. The FBI is committed to investigating all who manipulate U.S. financial systems to enable money laundering and drug trafficking'.
This case is the result of efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force, who were assisted by Wells Fargo Bank's internal investigators in Arizona and California. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Blanca Quintero.
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