LOS ANGELES – In a shocking expose, two men from San Gabriel Valley and their import-export company have been charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, as part of a sophisticated Black Market Peso Exchange scheme.
According to a 93-count indictment, Chaur Hwan ‘Kenny’ Lin, 66, of San Marino, the president and co-owner of Peace & Rich Import, Inc., and Antonio Pareja, 53, of San Gabriel, the manager of Peace & Rich, used their company as an informal money transfer system to facilitate the transfer of money outside of the conventional financial institutions system.
The indictment alleges that Peace & Rich took in large amounts of cash, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, and conducted transactions without being registered as a money transmitting business and without filing Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). Lin and Pareja allegedly disbursed cash as directed by a peso broker in Mexico to couriers for delivery to other United States-based businesses on behalf of their Mexico-based customers.
The indictment also charges Lin with structuring cash deposits – or, making a series of deposits that were less than $10,000 – to avoid the filing of CTRs by the financial institutions where the deposits were made.
An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles revealed that Lin and Pareja used Peace & Rich to receive large amounts of cash derived from illegal activity. The cash was typically delivered by couriers working in conjunction with a peso broker in Mexico.
The Black Market Peso Exchange scheme involves a complex network of individuals and businesses working together to launder money. A peso broker works with an individual engaged in illegal activity, such as a drug trafficker, who needs to bring money from the United States to Mexico and convert it to pesos.
All three defendants are scheduled to be arraigned today at 2:00 p.m. in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. If convicted, they face significant prison time, including up to 10 years for each count of failure to file currency transaction reports and up to 5 years for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
RELATED: Anzures-Zarate & Salcedo-Carreon Sentenced for Multimillion-Dollar Money Laundering Scheme
RELATED: Anzures-Zarate and Salcedo-Carreon Sentenced in Black Market Peso Exchange Scheme
Related Federal Cases
- Tax Fixer Gets 18 Months for $1.2M Fraud Scheme · Alaska
- FDIC Protects All Depositors of Silicon Valley Bank Collapse · California
- FDIC Establishes DINB for Silicon Valley Bank Depositors · Massachusetts
- San Jose’s Omar Gonzalez Given 14-Year Sentence for Meth Trafficking · California
- Michigan Man Pleads Guilty To San Benito HS Bomb Threats · Michigan
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
