Gibran Rodriguez-Mejia, a 31-year-old man from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, has pleaded guilty to international money laundering in connection with his operation of a currency exchange house that received proceeds from multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin smuggled into the United States by the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to court documents, Rodriguez-Mejia laundered $3.5 million in drug proceeds and coordinated with couriers in Southern California to smuggle bulk U.S. currency from the United States to Mexico. He also arranged for currency to be smuggled to an exchange house in Tijuana, Mexico, owned and operated by co-defendant Cesar Hernandez-Martinez, who also recently entered a guilty plea in the case.
Rodriguez-Mejia pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell D. Dembin and faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $7 million. He will be sentenced on July 8 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez.
This case is the result of an ongoing investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence A. Casper and Senior Trial Counsel Mark A. Irish prosecuted the case.
Rodriguez-Mejia’s guilty plea is the fifth in this case, with three other defendants having previously entered guilty pleas and been sentenced. Omar Ayon-Diaz was sentenced to 120 months custody and $15,000 fine, while Joel Acedo-Ojeda was sentenced to 135 months custody and $20,000 fine. Osvaldo Contreras-Arriaga was sentenced to 132 months custody and $1,000 fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working together in this matter with the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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