More than $2.4 million in undeclared cash, stuffed into diapers, makeup bags, and baby wipes, was ripped from the luggage of two women arriving from the Dominican Republic — and now, they’ve admitted they knew exactly what they were doing. Mildrey De La Caridad Gonzalez, 61, and Milka Yarlin Alfaro, 40, pled guilty on November 14, 2016, in Miami to bulk cash smuggling, dodging federal reporting laws while hauling $2,463,759.00 into the United States.
The scheme unraveled at Miami International Airport on June 4, 2016, when Gonzalez, Alfaro, and co-defendant Luis de Jesus Alonzo, Jr. arrived from the Dominican Republic with at least seven bags. Alonzo filled out U.S. Customs Form 6059B as the ‘responsible family member,’ falsely declaring that none of the travelers carried more than $10,000. In reality, the trio had stashed a small fortune in cash across their luggage — cash that agents later found hidden in plain sight, wrapped in diapers and tucked into purses.
Gonzalez and Alfaro both admitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers that the luggage containing the cash was theirs, and that they had packed it together. Despite Alonzo’s false declaration, both women acknowledged their knowledge of the concealed currency. Their actions violated Title 31, United States Code, Section 5332(a), which criminalizes the smuggling of bulk cash to evade reporting requirements under Section 5316.
Chief U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore accepted the guilty pleas from Gonzalez and Alfaro, who now face a statutory maximum of five years in prison. Sentencing is set for February 2, 2017. Alonzo, who pled guilty to the same charge on September 15, 2016, awaits sentencing on November 30, 2016, before the same judge.
The investigation was a joint operation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), ICE-OPR, DHS-OIG, U.S. Secret Service, CBP, and HHS-OIG. Wifredo A. Ferrer, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, praised the agencies for intercepting one of the largest bulk cash smuggling attempts in recent South Florida history.
Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Mackenzie Duane is prosecuting the case. Court records and filings are available through the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or via PACER at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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