Emile Sentencing

BATON ROUGE, LA- United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. announced today that NAEEMAH EMILE, age 47, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson to twenty-eight (28) months of imprisonment.

EMILE previously pled guilty to money laundering and possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of “crack” cocaine and hydrocodone. In connection with her guilty plea, EMILE admitted that on May 2, 2012, EMILE and Beverly A. Smith traveled together to a local bank, where EMILE provided one of the tellers with a large bag containing $28,000 and seventy-nine (79) grams of “crack” cocaine. EMILE, who had an account at this bank, requested the teller to convert the $28,000 into a cashier’s check. That day, instead of using cash to pay for a new car they intended to purchase, they planned to pay for it with a cashier’s check so that this transaction would not be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. When the teller found the “crack” cocaine in the large bag given to her by EMILE, the police were called and the two women were taken into custody. During the investigation, law enforcement agents learned that EMILE had allowed Smith to use her residence to store “crack” cocaine and cash Smith made selling “crack” to various customers.

On July 6, 2012, during the execution of a search warrant at EMILE’s residence, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, law-enforcement agents found Smith trying to flush approximately 18 grams of “crack” cocaine down the toilet. EMILE was in the kitchen at the time.

On July 16, 2012, during an undercover transaction, law enforcement agents purchased a small quantity of hydrocodone from EMILE and Smith, at the latter’s residence, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. stated, “This case demonstrates our continued efforts to stymie the drug trade and preventing drug traffickers from using and hiding their drug profits.”

“Federal laws that regulate the reporting of financial transactions are in place to detect and stop illegal activities. IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to enforcing these laws and eliminating the laundering of illegal profits,” stated Special Agent in Charge, Gabriel Grchan, IRS Criminal Investigation.

Tony James, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration likewise, stated, “The DEA, in conjunction with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies will continue to pursue those violating federal drug trafficking and money laundering laws.”

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Baton Rouge City Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Piedrahita and Lane Ewing.