Tucson, AZ – Former bank manager, Carlos Antonio Vasquez, 41, of Nogales, AZ, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a money laundering scheme.
Between 2017 and 2019, Vasquez, who was branch manager at a bank in Rio Rico, conspired with a group of individuals to launder money and conceal its illicit source.
The money laundering organization brought Mexican citizens into the bank and Vasquez set up accounts for them to send funds back to Mexico. The Mexican citizens would then wire the funds into Mexican bank accounts under the direction of the organization.
Vasquez admitted that the funnel bank accounts helped his branch appear to attract new customers, improving its sales performance. He also knew that the head of the money laundering organization was a former customer of the bank and that the funds were proceeds of unlawful conduct.
Vasquez personally authorized 42 wire transfers out of the funnel accounts to bank accounts in Mexico in the amount of $357,883. The organization allegedly moved over $10 million in drug proceeds through the bank.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Nogales and U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution was handled by Elizabeth S. Boison and Margaret Moeser of the Bank Integrity Unit and Mary Sue Feldmeier, Wallace H. Kleindienst, and Robert A. Fellrath of the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson.
The case number is CR-19-02741-TUC-JAS (JR) and the release number is 2021- 058_Vasquez. For more information, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/.
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
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Key Facts
- State: Arizona
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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