Two men have been sentenced to prison for laundering money in the St. Louis area on behalf of the Sinaloa drug cartel, according to a ruling issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk.
Carl Von Garrett, 55, from St. Charles, Missouri, received a sentence of 135 months in prison. Tobiyyah Israel, 39, of Ohio, was sentenced to 36 months in separate hearings. Both were convicted by a jury in May on one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Von Garrett faced an additional conviction for another count of money laundering.
Trial evidence showed that Von Garrett laundered nearly $1 million through seven transactions during the spring of 2021 for the Sinaloa cartel. During sentencing, Judge Pitlyk noted that “the large quantity of money in the case reflected significant drug sales and that Von Garrett’s crime was ‘threatening to the community.’”
Luis Miguel Hernandez, 38, from Phoenix, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of money laundering. He admitted being driven by Von Garrett to meet with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer in St. Louis on March 1, 2021. Hernandez delivered $100,095 in drug proceeds at that meeting and later arranged further meetings between Antonio Jones, 51, from Florissant, Missouri, and the officer. Jones subsequently handed over sums including $100,000 on March 8; $150,030 on March 17; $100,000 on March 31; $109,740 on April 8; $100,100 on May 18; and another $100,100 on May 25.
Israel acted as a courier similar to Jones. Evidence presented at trial indicated that Israel picked up $221,020 from Von Garrett on April 14 before investigators stopped Von Garrett and found six phones along with a ledger listing dates and amounts matching cash drops. Israel told investigators he had been promised $1,000 for picking up the cash and had done so once before.
Hernandez was sentenced earlier this year to 87 months in prison while Jones received a sentence of 37 months after pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), FBI, St. Louis County Police Department, Bridgeton Police Department, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and St. Charles County Police Department participated in investigating the case while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Delworth and Ricardo Dixon prosecuted it.
“This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation,” officials said in a statement about their coordinated approach against high-level criminal organizations using intelligence-driven strategies across agencies.
More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
