NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Edmond Arzate, a 29-year-old resident of Houston, Texas, 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.
Arzate was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey after pleading guilty to a superseding bill of information, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
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.
That evening, Arzate contacted the source and instructed him to meet at a Waffle House in Mandeville, Louisiana. The source met with Arzate and provided him with $30,000.00 in government funds as payment for the previously conducted drug transaction.
Arzate departed from the area but the Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop and obtained the money from his vehicle. A Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent and Louisiana State Police Trooper interviewed Arzate regarding the money.
Arzate told the officers that he won the money playing poker at a Louisiana casino. When the officers asked if he had any receipts for the winnings, Arzate changed his story and said he played “underground poker.” Arzate then changed his story a second time and said he received the money from a “random guy” and provided no further information.
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.
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Drug Trafficking,Fraud & Financial Crimes,Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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