Mexican Money Launderer Pleads Guilty to $4M Crypto Scheme with CJNG

The US Department of Justice has announced that Carlos Érick Vázquez González, a Mexican national, has pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering related to drug trafficking in both the US and Mexico. Vázquez González worked with the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and used cryptocurrency to facilitate these crimes.

The intermediary received deposits of approximately $4 million from unidentified money brokers, who had deposited the proceeds from drug sales into a cryptocurrency wallet under his custody. He then exchanged crypto assets for dollars in Mexico, returning them to the same money brokers on the other side of the border.

Vázquez González accepted a commission of $40,000 for his participation in the scheme and faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentence will be revealed on December 17.