Edmond Arzate, Making a False Statement, Louisiana 2017

EDMOND ARZATE, TEXAS MAN, SENTENCED FOR LYING TO HOMELAND SECURITY

A Texas man has been sentenced to one year of probation for making a false statement to a Special Agent of Homeland Security Investigations in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

Edmond Arzate, 29, a resident of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Arzate faced a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, a fine of up to $250,000.00 and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

According to court documents, on October 12, 2017, a suspected drug trafficker informed a Homeland Security Investigations confidential source that a money courier would arrive in the Eastern District of Louisiana to collect funds for a previously conducted drug transaction. Arzate contacted the source and instructed him to meet at a Waffle House in Mandeville, Louisiana, where he was given $30,000.00 in government funds as payment for the previously conducted drug transaction.

However, when Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop and obtained the money from Arzate's vehicle, he lied to the officers about the origin of the funds, initially claiming he won the money playing poker at a Louisiana casino and later changing his story to say he received the money from a "random guy."

This prosecution was part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones.

Defendant: Edmond Arzate

Criminal Charge: Making a False Statement to a Special Agent of Homeland Security Investigations in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001

City and State: New Orleans, Louisiana

Exact Date: October 12, 2017

Sentence or Outcome: One year of probation

Dollar Amount: $30,000.00

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/texas-man-sentenced-after-pleading-guilty-making-false-statement-law-enforcement