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Local Cell Phone Stores Used as Front for Massive Money Laundering Scheme
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A sophisticated money laundering scheme that spanned nearly a decade has been brought to a close with the conviction of two defendants.
Jose Luis Rosales-Ocampo, 57, and his family members ran a network of cell phone stores in Columbus that served as a front for drug traffickers to send large amounts of money to Mexico. The stores, including Los Rosales on Shady Lane Road, Los Rosales 2 on East Main Street and Express Cellular on Eastland Square Drive, conducted little to no legitimate business, instead serving as a means for individuals to wire illicit drug proceeds to Mexico.
According to court documents, the schemes relied on the use of small businesses that held themselves out as cell phone stores. The stores sold few, if any, cell phones, and they conducted little, if any, legitimate business otherwise. Rather, the stores were merely front businesses for drug traffickers to send large amounts of money related to their drug trafficking from Columbus to Mexico.
Thousands of illicit wire transfers were completed per year, with drug dealers from multiple narcotics-trafficking cells dropping large amounts of narcotics money at the stores. The store owners would then falsify money sender names, addresses and phone numbers on the wire transfers to Mexico in order to conceal the nature of the proceeds.
In total, the joint state–federal efforts led to the prosecution of eight defendants federally and 35 defendants by the office of Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien. The investigation and prosecution of these defendants removed approximately 34 kilograms of heroin, 516 grams of cocaine, 76 grams of fentanyl and 250 pounds of marijuana from Central Ohio streets.
Jose Luis Rosales-Ocampo, along with his family members Thania Rosales-Guadarrama, Josue Gama-Perez, Dulce Rosales-Guadarrama and Rodolfo Franco-Valdez, previously pleaded guilty and currently await sentencing. Julio Angel Homer Gonzalez, 43, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the money laundering scheme. Eliezar Mendoza-Nava, 36, and Rodrigo Esqueda-Vazquez, 33, each pleaded guilty today.
According to U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers, the agents and officers on these cases dedicated thousands of hours of good investigative work to expose a massive money-laundering scheme that was benefiting drug lords in Mexico.
In a statement, DeVillers said, “Thanks to our law enforcement partners, at least 40 defendants are no longer doing business in Central Ohio and a significant amount of illegal drugs have been removed from our community.”
The investigation and prosecution of these defendants also resulted in the seizure of $458,500 in U.S. currency.
Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, stated, “IRS Criminal Investigation followed the money and discovered that the cell phone stores were operating primarily for the purpose of laundering drug proceeds.”
The investigation was a joint effort between local and federal law enforcement, including the Columbus Police Department, the Ohio HIDTA and the DEA.
Jurisdiction: The crimes occurred in Columbus, Ohio.
Charges: Conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Outcome: Convicted.
Sentence: Awaiting sentencing.
Amount of money laundered: $44 million.
Amount of money seized: $458,500.
Date: The crime occurred from 2013 to September 2019.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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