Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Brazilian man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida accepted the guilty plea today. On June 1, the district court also accepted the guilty pleas of five co-defendants.
According to court documents, Omar Aliperti De Mello Correa, 34, a U.S. citizen residing in Orlando; Ygor Fokin Saviolli, 35, a Brazilian national; Gabriel Cezar Menezes, 29, a Brazilian national; Joao Andrade De Mello, 29, a Brazilian national; Tadeu Sebastiane Rabelo Alves Barbosa, 30, a Brazilian national; and Leandro De Avila Goncalves, 42, a Brazilian national, all illegally residing in Orlando, were part of a sophisticated money laundering organization that operated across the United States and spanned several countries.
Members of the conspiracy arranged for bulk cash proceeds from the sale of controlled substances to be received by U.S.-based couriers and deposited at banks across the country in order to conceal and return those profits to, among others, the sources of drug supply operating outside the United States. Dozens of pickups across the country were coordinated through WhatsApp message chains that included facilitators and couriers. Saviolli provided upfront funds to facilitate the operations of the money laundering organization and oversaw the receipt and laundering of the bulk cash drug proceeds. Menezes also served as a facilitator, providing direction to and oversight of couriers, and personally picked up bulk cash on multiple occasions. Correa, De Mello, Barbosa, and Goncalves all served as couriers for the money laundering organization, conducting bulk cash pickups in cities including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Rochester, New York, and Tampa, among others. During the course of the conspiracy, the organization concealed more than $30 million in cash.
Saviolli, whose plea was accepted today, and the five co-defendants each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Saviolli is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11. Menezes, Correa, De Mello, Barbosa, and Goncalves are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rochester Resident Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Brasilia Attaché Office and Miami Field Office.
Trial Attorneys James Hepburn and Jessee Alexander-Hoeppner of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s International Unit investigates and prosecutes cross-border money laundering schemes involving transnational criminal organizations, cartels, foreign official corruption and related money laundering affecting the U.S. financial system and prosecutes criminal cases and civil forfeiture matters to recover the proceeds of those crimes.