California Woman Sentenced On Drug And Money Laundering Charges

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Sonia Hernandez, 44, of Norwalk, CA, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, and money laundering conspiracy, was sentenced to serve 72 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan A. Tokash, who handled the case, stated that in November 2007, the defendant was hired by a staffing agency in Los Angeles, CA, owned by co-defendant Herman Aguirre. In 2011, Aguirre closed most of the legitimate business operations but retained the defendant to work for him. Operations continued out of a warehouse in Montebello, CA, and Hernandez continued to provide secretarial support for the business. At some point between 2011 and 2013, the business transitioned to the illegal trafficking of narcotics and the defendant continued to assist Aguirre in that venture. From January 2013 to September 2015, Hernandez sold quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.

In furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy, the defendant on two occasions transported shipments of cocaine and heroin to the Western District of New York. On May 23-26, 2014, Hernandez drove in a rental vehicle with co-defendant Martha Aguirre from Los Angeles to Buffalo. Eight kilograms of cocaine were hidden inside the rental vehicle. Additionally, on June 21, 2014, a Nebraska State Patrol officer stopped the defendant while she was driving a rental car on Interstate 80 in Seward County, Nebraska. Inside the rental vehicle were seven kilograms of cocaine and 10 kilograms of heroin. All 17 kilograms were destined for the Western District of New York to be distributed.

In addition, Herman Aguirre used “front” companies to launder over $12,000,000 in drug proceeds from Buffalo to Los Angeles, including Triton Foods, Inc. and Kamora Investment Enterprises, Inc., which were located in the State of California. Another fictitious company, Corral Seafoods, LLC, registered in the State of New York, was allegedly located in Cheektowaga, NY, but proved to be completely fake. Defendant Hernandez created fake invoices for the sale of sea cucumbers by these companies to the Western District of New York. Those invoices were intended to conceal the true source of these assets, which were the sale of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. The defendant also admitted to receiving cash totaling $1,997,174.07 that had been withdrawn from banks in the Central District of California and to providing that currency to Herman Aguirre for purposes of facilitating the unlawful activities organization.

On May 10, 2016, while under oath and testifying in a proceeding before a Federal Grand Jury, Hernandez made false material declarations regarding her participation in this conspiracy. The defendant falsely claimed before the Grand Jury that she had no knowledge of any drugs in the rental vehicles driven to the Western District of New York.

Hernandez is one of 17 defendants convicted in this case.

Sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan, New York Field Division; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special-Agent-in Charge Kevin Kelly; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Jonathan Larson; the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Voutour; the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Byron Lockwood; the Lockport Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Steven Preisch; the Montebello, California Police Department; the Nebraska State Patrol; and the DEA, Los Angeles.

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