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Press Release

California Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Federal Prison for Laundering $350,000 in Drug Proceeds

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington

Spokane – Joseph H. Harrington, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Julio Cesar Rosales Saucedo, age 25, of Paramount, California, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty on December 19, 2017, to conspiracy to commit money laundering of drug proceeds. Senior United States District Judge Edward F. Shea sentenced Saucedo to an 87-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison.

According to information disclosed during court proceedings, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tri-Cities Safe Streets Task Force, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Serious Organized Crime Unit, conducted an undercover money laundering investigation of a transnational drug trafficking organization. Investigators determined the organization trafficked heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine from Mexico through Los Angeles, California to the Eastern District of Washington. According to court records, Saucedo assisted the organization by laundering over $350,000 in drug proceeds, picking up large cash drops and trafficking drugs to the Eastern District of Washington. Saucedo’s fingerprints were recovered from the packaging on 700 grams of pure fentanyl that investigators seized during the investigation.

Joseph H. Harrington said, “I commend the federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement officers who worked on this case. Their seamless partnership resulted in the successful outcome in this matter. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington is, and will continue to be, committed to prosecuting aggressively and seeking appropriate punishment for offenders who launder drug proceeds in this District.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The OCDETF program provides supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the investigation of drug-related crimes.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tri-Cities Safe Streets Task Force, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Serious Organized Crime Unit. This case was prosecuted by Stephanie Van Marter, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

Updated March 22, 2018

Press Release Number: 15-CR-06049-EFS-9