Hector Alejandro Paez Garcia, an attorney based in Mexico City, has entered a guilty plea in federal court. He admitted to participating in a conspiracy to move tens of millions of dollars from the United States to Mexico, derived from drug trafficking activities linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.
This plea is part of an FBI investigation into a money laundering organization (MLO) that reportedly laundered over $52.7 million for the cartel. The MLO used shell companies in San Diego to process large sums of cash collected across the U.S., which were then transferred to accounts in Mexico managed by Paez. In his plea agreement, Paez acknowledged his managerial role within this operation.
FBI agents seized 66 bank accounts related to money laundering during their investigation. As authorities began targeting these assets, Paez attempted to use cryptocurrency as a protective measure. However, the FBI dismantled this network as well.
The investigation has led to 11 arrests on money laundering charges and seizures exceeding $3.1 million in illicit assets. A related DEA operation resulted in 24 more arrests and additional asset seizures totaling $450,000.
In March 2025, sanctions were imposed by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on six individuals and seven entities involved with Paez's co-conspirators.
Paez is scheduled for sentencing on August 15, 2025. Other participants charged include Miguel Angel Encinas Gomez, Hugo Andres Velasquez Pantza, James Harmon Yarbrough, Victoria Johanna Lopez, Jose Jesus Lopez, Jose Mayorga Martinez, Gerardo Vasquez Jr., Jhonatan Suarez Florez, and Alberto David Benguait Jimenez.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Benjamin and Robert Miller with significant contributions from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Owen Roth. The FBI collaborated with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies in this effort.
This case forms part of Operation Take Back America under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), aimed at disrupting high-level criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.
