Sinaloa Cartel Money Man Gets 41 Months for Laundering $52 Million

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Hector Paez-Garcia, who was extradited from Panama to the United States, was sentenced in federal court on November 13, 2026, to 41 months in custody for laundering approximately $52 million for the Sinaloa Cartel, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Read the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/money-launderer-sentenced-laundering-52-million-sinaloa-cartel-part-ongoing-homeland

The sentencing was part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation, officials reported.

Paez-Garcia is listed in the release as a defendant from Mexico City, Mexico.

The case is Case Number 23-cr-00446-JLS, according to the release.

Couriers Nationwide, Sham Accounts, And Cryptocurrency Transfers

According to court records, Paez-Garcia was a high-ranking member of a major money laundering organization working for the Sinaloa Cartel.

The organization dispatched couriers around the country to collect drug proceeds from cartel-affiliated dealers, according to the release.

The couriers then deposited the money in U.S. bank accounts for fictitious companies, splitting their deposits between multiple sham accounts and bank branches to avoid detection, officials reported.

From there, the money was often transferred to Mexico-based shell accounts controlled by Paez-Garcia or converted to cryptocurrency, according to the release.

Paez-Garcia, in turn, ensured the money was properly disbursed to the Sinaloa Cartel, officials reported.

From 2020 until his arrest and extradition in 2023, Paez-Garcia assisted the organization in laundering approximately $52 million in illicit drug proceeds, according to the release.

51 Defendants Charged, Drug Seizures, And Sanctions

Since Paez-Garcia's arrest, the United States has continued to dismantle the organization by charging, extraditing, and convicting several other key money launderers, officials reported.

To date, those efforts have resulted in charges against 51 defendants, according to the release.

They have also resulted in the seizure of approximately 1,304 kilograms of methamphetamine, 34 kilograms of heroin, 11 kilograms of cocaine, 14 kilograms of fentanyl, and more than $4.1 million, officials reported.

The head of the organization, Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2025, as were the shell corporations Paez-Garcia operated, according to the release.

"When you do the cartel's business, you become our business," said United States Attorney Adam Gordon.

"Money laundering is the lifeblood of the cartel business model, allowing criminal organizations to expand their operations and profit from the suffering they cause," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily.

A Conspiracy Charge, A 20-Year Maximum, And The Task Force

Paez-Garcia was charged with conspiracy to launder money, Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h), according to the release.

18 U.S.C. § 1956(h): Conspiracy to Launder Money (Maximum penalty: 20 years in prison)

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Benjamin and Robert Miller, officials reported.

The investigating agencies listed in the release are the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings, according to the release.

Anyone with information about cartel money laundering or drug trafficking can contact their local FBI or DEA office, or submit a tip to the FBI.

Sources

U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California, Official Press Release (Press Release Number: CAS26-1113-Paez-Garcia), November 13, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/money-launderer-sentenced-laundering-52-million-sinaloa-cartel-part-ongoing-homeland