A Miami executive who sold himself as a tech leader is now headed to federal prison for more than a decade after Brooklyn jurors found he was really moving cartel cash. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon sentenced 51-year-old Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani to 12 years behind bars for running an international money laundering operation that prosecutors say pushed more than $300 million for cartels and other transnational criminal organizations. The court also entered a $330 million forfeiture money judgment tied to his conduct, in a case that federal authorities say highlights their growing focus on the financial plumbing behind cross-border drug trafficking.
Prosecutors say Mitrani co-owned and led a company called Treebu that was marketed as a technology business but, in practice, served as a front to wash illicit proceeds. At trial, the government introduced financial records showing Treebu used shell companies and U.S. bank accounts to disguise the origin of funds and convert cryptocurrency into cash that could be repatriated to traffickers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York.
“The defendant will deservedly spend a significant portion of the rest of his life in prison,” United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. His office noted that the court imposed the $330 million forfeiture money judgment in connection with the scheme and credited Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI with helping build the case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
At trial, prosecutors laid out what they described as a high-volume, concierge-style laundering service. Treebu took in cryptocurrency and wire transfers, pushed the money through layers of shell companies and U.S. bank accounts, then handed traffickers cash for a fee. The government says Mitrani tapped the proceeds to finance a multimillion dollar Miami home, luxury travel and high-end jewelry, as reported by WSVN.
Prosecution and forfeiture
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Amir, Lorena Michelen and David Berman from the Eastern District of New York’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section prosecuted the case, with support from HSI and IRS-CI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office flagged the 12-year sentence and nine-figure forfeiture in a post on US Attorney EDNY on X, linking out to its detailed press release.
Why it matters
Federal authorities say operations like Treebu are the financial backbone of transnational criminal organizations, allowing cartels to quietly move and hide profits far from the violence generated on the ground. Officials have framed the case as part of a broader wave of enforcement and policy scrutiny on anti-money-laundering controls and newer crypto-era pathways, a trend tracked in legal reviews such as one by Paul Weiss.
Legal implications
Mitrani was convicted on charges that included money laundering conspiracy, bank fraud conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, all federal offenses that carry substantial prison exposure and significant forfeiture consequences. The conviction itself was first reported in December 2025, and Hoodline covered the verdict and trial background in December in the December verdict coverage.
With the prison term now set and the massive forfeiture judgment in place, prosecutors say a major conduit for illicit funds has been dismantled. Mitrani still has the option to pursue appeals, but for now investigators say the operation that once pushed hundreds of millions of dollars in dirty money is effectively shut down.
