Joshua S. Levy, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
Two men from Jamaica have been found guilty by a federal jury in Boston for their roles in an international money laundering operation. The organization, linked to Colombian drug cartels, laundered over $6 million through banking systems in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe.
St. Devon Anthony Cover, 61, was convicted on charges including one count of money laundering conspiracy and seven counts of laundering monetary instruments. Dennis Raymond Rowe, 59, faced convictions for one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and two counts of laundering monetary instruments. Sentencing will be scheduled by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns at a later date.
The investigation led to the seizure of $1 million from corporate bank accounts and traced nearly 3,000 kilograms of cocaine back to the organization. This included significant seizures at sea near Jamaica and at the Port of Buenaventura in Colombia.
U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy commented on the convictions: “Today’s convictions reflect the relentless efforts of this office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle the sophisticated financial networks that fuel international drug cartels." He emphasized accountability for those involved in illicit drug operations impacting Massachusetts.
Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Field Division stated: “Those who choose to launder money from drug proceeds are endangering the general public in Massachusetts."
The investigation began around October 2016 into a Barranquilla-based organization using the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) to conceal activities and evade currency exchange requirements. Roles within the organization varied from drug suppliers to peso brokers and money couriers.
Cover reportedly laundered approximately $268,000 while Rowe handled over $600,000 through bulk cash deliveries to undercover agents.
Charges carry potential sentences up to 20 years imprisonment with fines possibly reaching twice the amount involved. The case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
Authorities involved include DEA Acting SAC Belleau; Thomas Demeo from IRS Criminal Investigation; Aura Liliana Trujillo Rojas from Colombia's Attorney General’s Office; Ricardo Sánchez Silvestre from Colombian National Police; Jervis Moore from Jamaica Constabulary Force; and Colonel Geoffrey Noble from Massachusetts State Police.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs played a key role in securing arrests and extraditions related to this case.
The remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
