Individuals from Florida, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico were charged in four indictments. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced this in a news release on August 23.
In the first indictment, 11 individuals were charged for various crimes related to the Carlos Limery Dones Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). According to the DEA, seven people are charged with drug trafficking conspiracy, distribution, money laundering, and other crimes, facing a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Two Florida residents and a South Carolina resident face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering conspiracy and money laundering charges. Roberto Rodriguez Almodovar, 59, of Kissimmee, Florida, faces a potential death sentence for drug trafficking and committing murder in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The second indictment focuses on wire fraud conspiracy in purchasing a home. Yesenia Laracuente, 35, and Wilmary Sepulveda, 36, are charged with wire fraud conspiracy; both face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The third indictment involves COVID-related fraud charges against Carlos Limery Dones, 46, of Puerto Rico. He is charged with wire fraud and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The fourth indictment also focuses on COVID-related fraud charges against Santos Cruz Rivera, 44, of Kissimmee, Florida. He is charged with wire fraud and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Almodovar is accused of murdering one individual with a single gunshot to the back of the head on August 3, 2021, in retaliation for the murder of a lookout at a stash house used by the DTO.
According to the DEA news release, eight individuals charged in these indictments are accused of trafficking controlled substances during a multi-year conspiracy to traffic both cocaine and fentanyl in the Middle District of Florida.
The Drug Enforcement Administration was founded in 1973 to ensure proper implementation of U.S. laws regarding controlled substances and to bring entities involved in production, distribution or trafficking of such substances to either criminal or civil justice. The current DEA Administrator is Anne Milgram, serving since 2021.
