E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
A jury in Los Angeles has found José Ángel Del Villar, the CEO of Del Records and its related talent agency, Del Entertainment Inc., guilty of conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Del Villar, along with his agency, was convicted of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of violating the Kingpin Act.
The charges stem from business dealings with Jesús Pérez Alvear, alias “Chucho,” a music promoter from Guadalajara, Mexico, with alleged links to drug cartels. The U.S. Treasury Department had designated Pérez and his company, Gallistica Diamante (also known as Ticket Premier), as “specially designated narcotics traffickers” in April 2018 due to connections with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Despite being aware of the illegal status of transactions with Pérez, Del Villar allowed a musical artist from Del Entertainment to continue performing at concerts linked to Pérez. Evidence from the trial showed that on April 28, 2018, Del Villar’s credit card was used to pay for a private jet to transport the musician to a concert organized by Pérez in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally stated, “The defendants here chose to get into business with an individual they knew had ties to the CJNG and had been designated a narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act.” Assistant Director Akil Davis from the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office added, “Today’s guilty verdict sends a message to music industry associates and others who engage in business with those sanctioned for laundering money for Mexican drug cartels will not be tolerated by the FBI, nor our partners at the IRS and the United States Attorney’s Office.”
United States District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong has set the sentencing hearing for August 15. Del Villar faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count. Del Entertainment is looking at five years of probation and a fine of $10 million per count.
Co-defendant Luca Scalisi, who pleaded not guilty, is set to be tried separately in July 2025. Pérez had previously pleaded guilty to similar charges before his murder in Mexico in December 2024.
The FBI and IRS's Criminal Investigation division led the investigation, with help from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Operation Take Back America, both aiming to prevent the activities of cartels and transnational criminal organizations in the United States.
