Jose Alonso Paramo Arguello, Money Laundering, Oregon 2026

MEDFORD, Ore.— A Mexican national unlawfully residing in the United States has been accused of laundering millions of dollars in narcotics trafficking proceeds.

Jose Alonso Paramo Arguello, 45, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged by criminal complaint with money laundering, according to a federal indictment.

Arguello is the owner and operator of Tienda Santa Maria II LLC in Phoenix, Oregon, as well as two other businesses, Tienda Santa Maria in Medford, Oregon, and Paramos Barber Shop in Central Point, Oregon. He allegedly used his three businesses to transfer narcotics trafficking proceeds to Mexico by breaking down transactions into smaller amounts and using fake names and addresses for the money senders.

According to court documents, from January 2, 2024, through December 3, 2025, Arguello’s three money service businesses transferred more than $13 million in wire transfers of $500 or more to Mexico.

Of that amount, over $7 million was sent to locations in Mexico associated with narcotics trafficking. The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) provided an informant with cash to attempt to wire money to Mexico, and the informant told Arguello he was a drug dealer. Arguello allegedly responded, “You sell whatever you want, you’re a merchant, period.”

Arguello laundered over $45,000 in what the informant represented as drug trafficking proceeds through 22 wire transfers. While doing so, Arguello received a 10% commission to launder the funds, which he referred to as a bribe.

Arguello made his first appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate judge. He was ordered detained pending a further court proceeding scheduled for March 23, 2026, in Medford.

The case is being investigated by the IRS-CI, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET), and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Cardani and Julia Jarrett are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This arrest is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

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