California Man Sentenced to Prison for Money Laundering and Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – On January 19, 2016, Michael Arnold Ramirez, 32, of Los Angeles, California, was sentenced by Senior United States District Court Judge James E. Gritzner to 147 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering to conceal drug proceeds, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel.

According to Ramirez’s plea agreement, Ramirez was involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Southern District of Iowa. As part of the conspiracy, in April of 2015, Ramirez traveled from California to Iowa for the purpose of transporting drug proceeds back to California. Ramirez also concealed the drug proceeds in order to disguise the location and source of the proceeds of the drug conspiracy.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.