Southern Arizona man accused of money laundering following an HSI investigation

NOGALES, Ariz. — Late April, a Santa Cruz county man was charged by felony information for laundering money for an illegal enterprise following a financial investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jesus Acosta-Gandarilla’s court case will take place in Santa Cruz Justice Court.

Acosta-Gandarilla was accused on April 25, of committing Second Degree Money Laundering, Conspiracy, and Illegally Conducting an Enterprise between Sept. 26, 2017 to Nov. 1, 2017, by allowing others to deposit approximately $55,000 into his Wells Fargo Bank account and by personally wiring approximately $55,000, in order to conceal the identity of the actual persons receiving the money.

A copy of the indictment is available here.

Assistant Attorney General Sabrina Lochner is prosecuting this case.

All defendants are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Learn more about HSI Phoenix and how we combat financial fraud by visiting @HSIPhoenix.