Thirteen Additional Defendants Sentenced for Roles in Transnational Criminal Operation

This release was issued following the 43-day government shutdown during which the sentencings occurred.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Thirteen individuals from Arizona, Ohio, and Washington, including a Mexico resident illegally living in the United States, were sentenced in federal court this month on charges of violating federal narcotics and money laundering laws in relation to a transnational criminal organization, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced. The defendants were among 35 individuals charged through a Second Superseding Indictment unsealed in January 2024 for their participation in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

The sentences, all imposed by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, were:

According to information presented to the Court, on various dates from in and around August 2021 to in and around June 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, the defendants conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others. Additionally, from in and around May 2022 to in and around March 2023, Guerrero conspired to commit money laundering by using bulk amounts of currency obtained from drug trafficking to conduct financial transactions in order to disguise the nature of the money and promote the drug trafficking conspiracy. Similarly, Guerrero provided money to his suppliers knowing it would be transported to Mexico to further promote the drug trafficking conspiracy, through which the organization imported from Mexico millions of fentanyl pills, kilograms of fentanyl powder, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and dozens of kilograms of cocaine that then were distributed and sold throughout the United States.

To date, 31 of the 35 defendants charged in the Second Superseding Indictment have pleaded guilty or been convicted in this case, with 23 now having been sentenced. Two of the defendants were convicted during a jury trial in September 2025 and are pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Arnold P. Bernard Jr. and Katherine C. Jordan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.