Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, a resident of Miami, Florida and citizen of France and Colombia, was sentenced on Apr. 20 in federal court in Brooklyn to 12 years in prison for leading a large-scale money laundering and fraud operation. Bibliowicz Mitrani was convicted by a federal jury in December 2025 on charges including conspiracies to commit money laundering, bank fraud, and unlicensed money transmitting related to laundering over $300 million for people connected with drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel. The court also ordered him to pay a $330 million forfeiture judgment.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to target the financial operations that support transnational criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking. The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at dismantling cartels and protecting communities from violent crime.
United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said: "As punishment for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for drug cartels and drug traffickers, a crime that shocks the conscience, the defendant will deservedly spend a significant portion of the rest of his life in prison." Nocella added that this prosecution shows how his office is working toward eliminating criminal organizations by targeting their financial networks.
Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations New York, said: "Today’s sentence strikes at the heart of a criminal enterprise that funneled hundreds of millions of illicit funds into the hands of drug cartels and traffickers." Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation New York stated: "Individuals like Bibliowicz Mitrani...enable billion‑dollar criminal enterprises to operate in the shadows...With today’s sentence...the only thing he’ll be laundering now are his clothes."
Prosecutors proved during trial that between approximately 2020 and 2024 Bibliowicz Mitrani led an operation using Treebu—a technology company front based in Florida and Colombia—to launder proceeds from narcotics sales through shell companies and falsified business activities. He used profits from these activities on luxury goods including jewelry purchases from Van Cleef & Arpels, payments towards a $4 million Miami mansion, and expensive travel.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York handles federal prosecutions across Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County according to its official website. It maintains offices in Brooklyn and Central Islip as reported by its official website while supporting community outreach efforts according to its official website. Breon Peace serves as United States Attorney as noted on its official website, overseeing both federal crime prosecutions and civil matters representation within the district per its official website.
