Sinaloa Cartel Money Laundering in Los Angeles Part 2: Precious Gems & Platini Jeans
“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
Part 2 of a Series Looking into Money Laundering Operations Out of Southern California tied to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Part 2 Trade-Based Money Laundering
Another method of moving drug proceeds employed by the Sinaloa Cartel and other organizations is the ‘Black Market Peso Exchange’ also termed ‘Trade Based Money Laundering.’ This is a system of value transfer as opposed to the transfer of currency (including goods and services) that exploits legitimate businesses and other trading systems to launder the proceeds of illegal activity.
Operation Fortune Runner
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These brokers and money consolidators seek out businesses or individuals in other countries who purchase merchandise in the United States and need US dollars to pay for that merchandise. The Chinese nationals in the San Gabriel Valley area initiated transactions to a Chinese bank controlled by a money laundering broker.
Then the money laundering group used that money to purchase goods in places like China; such as electronics, clothing and precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and methamphetamines. After the Chinese sent those purchased goods to Mexico, the items were then sold or used by the cartel, and their proceeds eventually used to pay for additional drugs being shipped to U.S., according to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.
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San Diego Jewelers
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Undated photos of Bernardo Mauberis and his likely wife. |
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Bernardo’s various social media profiles advertise investments and peso exchanges. |
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As of May 2024, the SD Jewelers location is now Mauber Jewelry, and still ran by son Fabian Mauberis according to Yelp reviews and business records.
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According to their website, “SD Jewelers is a San Diego based Company which initially began in 2018. Since then, the Company has expanded and grown to have three locations in San Diego County. We are a family owned business with the focus on customer care and professional services. Our background of Jewelry experience in our family is over 70 combined years, from Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico and now in the United States of America.”
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Fabian Mauberis of SD Jewelers |
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Interestingly, the mailing address listed for Fabian Mauberis and SD Diamonds Inc. is a Postal Annex mailbox in Chula Vista. The location of that Postal Annex is just one block from the location of the Chili’s restaurant where allegedly the shooting of James “El Apache” Bryant Corona took place on March 26, 2024.
Platini Jeans
Late last year, a federal judge fined a Paramount, California based clothing company $4,000,000 and ordered them to pay over $6,000,000 in restitution for a scheme that undervalued clothing imported from China in order to avoid paying millions in customs duties.
According to court documents, Ghacham Inc. imported clothing from China and submitted fraudulent invoices to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that undervalued the shipments, allowing the company to avoid paying the full amounts of tariffs owed on the imports.
At Mohamed Ghacham’s direction, Chinese suppliers would prepare two invoices for the clothing ordered by Ghacham Inc. – a true invoice, which reflected the actual price paid for the goods, and a fraudulent “customs invoice,” which reflected an understated price. Ghacham Inc. submitted the customs invoices to CBP and customs brokers to fraudulently reduce the tariffs owed on the imports, while it maintained the true invoices in its accounting records.
From July 2011 and February 2021, Ghacham Inc. and Mohamed Ghacham undervalued imported garments by more than $32 million and failed to pay approximately $6,390,792 in customs duties.
Interestingly enough, this was the first criminal conviction in the Central District of California (which includes the greater Los Angeles Area) under the Kingpin Act.
The only charge the company’s main executive, Mohamed Daoud Ghacham pleaded guilty to was conspiracy to commit fraud. He received 4 years in prison, he was not charged in relation to the Kingpin Act violation.
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A photo from the Platini Jeans website showing their shirts and jeans. |
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Cazares-Salazar Financial Network
On September 26, 2006, the president of Ghacham Inc. and María Cázarez Pérez, via the business Cazper Importaciones, formed the company Platini Jeans Cougar de Mexico, which marketed the Platini México brand.
On the day she was blacklisted by the OFAC, law enforcement agents went to Ghacham Inc.’s headquarters to warn them that their partner “was a designated drug trafficker and that the defendant was prohibited by law from doing business with her,” court documents describe.
Investigators also detected international wire transfers made by Platini Mexico to LA Fashion’s account at HSBC. From 2016 to 2018, there were 8 wire transfers totaling over $400,000.
When federal agents searched their offices, they found several documents and communications on its computers that exposed its dealings with Platini Mexico, either directly or through LA Fashion. An email to Mohamed Ghacham indicated a wire transfer of $35,000 from a Platini Mexico account to an LA Fashion account in 2017.
A bank statement addressed to “Mari Cazarez” dated February 24, 2021, showed a 2017 balance of $508,395 and that Platini Mexico owed $84,255 to LA Fashion.
Víctor Emilio Cázares Salazar was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the US in 2016. He was sentenced to 15 years in US prison. María Tiburcia Cazarez Pérez and the company Cazper Importaciones that formed the Platini Mexico partnership were removed from the OFAC sanctions list in March 2023. Efrain and Irma Cazarez Pérez were also removed from the sanctions list.
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In early 2020, an elaborate wedding took place for one of “El Chapo’s” daughters. Alejandrina Gisselle Guzmán’s husband, Edgar Cazares is the nephew of Blanca Margarita Cazares “La Emperatriz/ Chiquis” who was sanctioned in 2007 for her “sophisticated money-laundering apparatus.” Gisselle trademarked “El Chapo” for use in fashion merchandising in Mexico and debuted the “El Chapo 701″ fashion line at the Intermoda fashion show in Guadalajara in 2019.
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C’est Toi Jeans, Inc.and its owners were charged in 2014 with falsifying customs documents to undervalue imported goods by $62 million. The company also would receive large amounts of US currency from drug sales to pay for outstanding merchandising orders from customers in Mexico and elsewhere. They allegedly accepted up to $70,000 in these large cash payments.
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The investigation also led authorities again outside the U.S. to Taiwan. With the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice’s assistance, a bank account containing $15.6 million related to cartel money laundering was frozen.
Sources DOJ, DOJ, ICE, ICE, DOJ, Univision, Borderland Beat, Borderland Beat, Buzzfeed, Justia
Source: https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2024/07/sinaloa-cartel-money-laundering-in-los.html
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