Sinaloa Cartel Money Launderer Juan Manuel Alvarez-Inzunza Gets More Than 15 Years In Prison

A high-level money launderer for the infamous Sinaloa Cartel was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Court records show that Juan Manuel Alvarez-Inzunza was brought to justice for the part he played in a conspiracy to transfer millions of dollars in drug proceeds out of the United States.

In a press release from the Department of Justice provided by the United States Attorney’s Office, the transfer of drug proceeds was intercepted by agents from U.S. Homeland Security while communications took place between Alvarez-Inzunza and other high-level Sinaloa cartel members as they received requests from the Cartel’s leaders, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman. These requests included arrangements for the collection of drug proceeds in cities across the U.S., such as New York, Chicago, Boston, and Detroit. Alvarez-Inzunza was said to have collaborated with associates in Bogota, Colombia, to arrange the transfer of those funds to Mexico, Central America, and other countries in Latin America.

Agents were able to seize over $4 million dollars from the proceeds before they could leave the country using wire intercepts. The intercepts also revealed that Alvarez-Inzunza was behind the transfer, and was shortly arrested by Mexican authorities in 2016 while traveling in the state of Oaxaca. He was later extradited to the U.S. in 2021, pleading guilty on May 3, to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

On Friday, Chief Judge Dana M. Sabraw described the Sinaloa Cartel as a very violent criminal organization that requires funding to continue its operation. Sabraw remarks that money laundering operations such as these are integral to the cartel’s survival, and serve as the lifeblood that keeps these organizations in the business.

U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said that these large-scale drug cartels in Mexico require the manipulation of the international financial system to transfer the proceeds of drug sales in the U.S. in order to stay alive. He added that the sentence sends a message to global money launderers, warning them that they cannot hide from justice, wherever they may hide, and that the U.S. will continue to work with its international partners to hunt them down

According to The Times of San Diego, Alvarez-Inzunza worked previously as a civil attorney in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. His defense attorney, Frederick Carroll indicated that a client who worked for the cartel had approached Alvarez-Inzunza regarding a legal matter at which he found it difficult to extricate himself from his new employer. His decision to work for these people, Carroll said, resulted in the situation he now regretfully has to pay for in jail.