Del Records CEO Gets 4 Years for Cartel Concert Dealings

LOS ANGELES – José Ángel Del Villar, 45, of Huntington Beach, the CEO of Latin music conglomerate Del Records and its related talent agency Del Entertainment Inc., is headed to federal prison. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong sentenced Del Villar to 48 months behind bars and fined him $2 million for conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. He did business with a Guadalajara-based concert promoter demonstrably linked to Mexican drug cartels.

The scheme, detailed during a nine-day trial culminating in a guilty verdict on March 27, centered around Jesús Pérez Alvear, a.k.a. “Chucho,” who controlled Gallistica Diamante, a.k.a. Ticket Premier. Pérez promoted concerts for Del Entertainment in Mexico until March 2019. The U.S. Treasury Department had already flagged Pérez and his company as “specially designated narcotics traffickers” on April 6, 2018, connecting him to money laundering operations for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the Los Cuinis drug trafficking organization. The Kingpin Act makes it illegal for U.S. citizens and companies to transact with such sanctioned entities – a rule Del Villar brazenly ignored.

Evidence presented at trial revealed Del Villar knew he was breaking the law. Despite being directly warned by FBI agents on April 19, 2018, about Pérez’s designation and the prohibitions it carried, Del Villar continued to facilitate concerts promoted by Pérez. A well-known musician performed on April 28, 2018, at a concert organized by Pérez. Del Villar’s own credit card paid for the private jet transporting the musician from Van Nuys Airport to Aguascalientes, Mexico. This wasn’t a one-time lapse; the arrangement continued through 2018 and 2019, with multiple concerts across Mexico – including in Mexicali and San José Iturbide, Guanajuato – directly benefiting Pérez and his illicit operations.

Prosecutors hammered home the point that Del Villar wasn’t a naive bystander. “Far from being an unwitting participant in a ‘gotcha’ crime, [Del Villar] orchestrated a sophisticated criminal scheme sustained over a lengthy period of time and involving myriad unlawful transactions,” they argued in a sentencing memorandum. Del Entertainment Inc. also received a hefty penalty: three years of probation and a $1.8 million fine. Co-defendant Luca Scalisi, 59, of West Hollywood, has pleaded guilty to a similar charge and is scheduled for sentencing October 22.

The web extends further. Co-defendant Pérez, however, won’t be facing justice in a U.S. courtroom – he was murdered in Mexico in December 2024. Just last week, the U.S. Treasury Department added another artist connected to Del Villar’s businesses to the Kingpin Act’s sanctions list: Ricardo Hernández Medrano, a.k.a. “El Makabelico” or “Comando Exclusivo.” The Treasury Department determined Hernández was using concert proceeds and royalties to launder money for the Cartel del Noreste, formerly known as Los Zetas. This case highlights how deeply organized crime can infiltrate even the entertainment industry.

The investigation was a joint effort by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, with significant assistance from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Assistant United States Attorneys Benedetto L. handled the prosecution. This case serves as a stark warning: facilitating financial transactions for drug cartels, even indirectly through entertainment, carries severe consequences.

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