In a recent development, two men have been handed prison sentences for their roles in laundering money on behalf of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Carl Von Garrett of St. Charles, Missouri, received a sentence of 135 months, while Tobiyyah Israel from Ohio was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
The convictions and sentences were the outcome of a federal trial, where both men were found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of money laundering. Von Garrett was hit with an additional count of the same charge. The U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk emphasized the severity of Von Garrett’s crimes stating, "the large quantity of money in the case reflected significant drug sales", and that Von Garrett’s crime was “threatening to the community,” as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Detailed in the trial was how Von Garrett processed nearly $1 million across seven transactions in the spring of 2021 for the cartel. His activities were part of a broader investigation that included other individuals such as Luis Miguel Hernandez of Phoenix, and Antonio Jones of Florissant, Missouri, both of whom have received federal sentences for their involvement in the laundering scheme.
Israel, described as a courier like Jones, was implicated by evidence and testimony during the trial. He admitted to investigators that he'd been promised $1,000 to collect cash, and that he’d done so on more than one occasion, picking up $221,020 from Von Garrett on April 14, 2021. During a stop by investigators,Von Garrett was found in possession of six phones and a ledger, that contained dates, and amounts of money roughly corresponding to the cash drops.
The successful prosecutions are the result of a concerted effort by multiple agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, and local police departments, working under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF uses a multi-agency approach to dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States.
