Two siblings from Toledo, Ohio, Christopher Grover Reynolds and Claudette Reynolds, were sentenced to 37 months in prison for laundering $784,045 in drug proceeds on behalf of a Mexico-based cartel. U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell handed down the sentences on Thursday.
Court documents state that Christopher Reynolds collected money from the sale of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana in Toledo. He then informed cartel members in Mexico when the funds were ready for laundering and transfer. On six occasions, either Christopher or his sister Claudette delivered the cash, which was later sent to Mexico using cryptocurrency.
Authorities searched Christopher Reynolds’s home and conducted a traffic stop involving Claudette Reynolds. These actions resulted in the seizure of $184,415 in cash, several pounds of marijuana, counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, two firearms—a .40 caliber pistol and an AR-15 rifle—and a money counting machine.
Federal law requires both defendants to serve at least 85 percent of their prison terms. After release, they will be under supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
“The defendants helped Mexican drug traffickers collect and disguise the profits from selling methamphetamine and fentanyl in Toledo,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their money laundering activities fueled the importation of dangerous drugs into the Midwest. This prosecution reflects the Criminal Division’s commitment to staunch the flow of cash to cartels and protect communities from the devastating consequences of drug trafficking.”
“Money launderers like the Reynolds are critical links in the cartel’s drug trafficking chain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Paul McCaffrey. “We are grateful for the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners in working to disrupt and dismantle that chain.”
“Every dollar they laundered was done so on the backs of overdose victims and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Division. “By acting as the cartel’s bankers, these siblings helped fuel the fentanyl and meth crisis tearing through Ohio. DEA will hunt down anyone who dares to wash cartel money — because if you launder blood money for drug traffickers, you will face justice alongside them.”
The case was investigated by multiple DEA offices across various cities including Lexington, Detroit, Rocky Mountain region offices as well as IRS Criminal Investigation Division.
Prosecution was led by Trial Attorney Elizabeth R. Rabe from DOJ's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section along with Deputy Criminal Chief Gary Todd Bradbury from U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of Kentucky.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative aimed at targeting illegal immigration networks and transnational criminal organizations while combining resources from federal programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
