Columbus, Ohio – In a major blow to the city’s underworld, Alejandro Ventura-Santos, 45, has been sentenced to 72 months in prison for conspiring to launder millions of dollars of drug trafficking money through a Columbus grocery store front business.
According to court documents, Ventura-Santos, between 2016 and 2021, conspired to launder upwards of $9.5 million in drug proceeds. The defendant purported to help operate La Tiendita, a small grocery store in Columbus that actually served as a large-scale money-laundering hub.
Drug traffickers would come into the store and drop off large amounts of cash to Ventura-Santos, who would then falsify sender names and addresses and wire the drug money to dealers in structured amounts. This practice, known as structuring, allowed the defendant to avoid reporting requirements and detection.
One example of Ventura-Santos’ money laundering scheme involved accepting $9,900 from undercover agents who said they were heroin dealers. The defendant kept a 10 percent commission from the undercover agents and wired the money to the provided recipient names.
As a result of the scheme, Ventura-Santos personally obtained at least $1 million, which he will forfeit. The defendant was charged federally in August 2023 and pleaded guilty in April 2024.
The sentence was announced by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Cincinnati Field Office; Dublin Police Chief Justin Paez; Angie Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations Detroit; Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant and officials with the Ohio HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Commission.
Alejandro Ventura-Santos was sentenced for conspiring to launder millions of dollars of drug trafficking money through a Columbus grocery store front business. He will serve 72 months in prison for the crime.
The case is a major victory for law enforcement in the fight against drug trafficking and money laundering in Columbus.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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