In a major effort to combat international money laundering, Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez, a man from Pico Rivera, has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison. United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner imposed the sentence, which also includes a $25,000 fine. This marks a pivotal moment in a case that exposed the intricate methods used to launder drug proceeds on behalf of international drug trafficking organizations.
Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez, 57, was found guilty by a jury in December 2021 of one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. His conviction is part of a broader investigation that revealed how millions of dollars in narcotics-related funds were funneled from the United States to drug traffickers abroad.
Money Laundering Scheme Involving Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez
The investigation, spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), began when undercover agents posed as money launderers to infiltrate the operation. Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez accepted wire transfers of drug proceeds directed by traffickers. Nearly $300,000 was funneled into a bank account under the guise of a bogus business operated by Aldana-Martinez. These funds were then transferred to unrelated companies, ostensibly to pay for electronic items. These items were then shipped to Colombia and Mexico, where they were sold to create laundered funds for the drug traffickers.
Evidence presented at the trial demonstrated that Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez laundered approximately $15.5 million between 2015 and 2017. His involvement in this complex scheme highlights the lengths to which drug traffickers go to disguise their illicit profits.
Key Players and Their Roles
The case also implicated other significant players. Daniel Shaun Zilke, also known as “The Englishman,” a 49-year-old resident of Mexico City, was the mastermind behind the money laundering enterprise. In December 2023, Zilke admitted guilt to several offenses, such as conspiring to aid drug distribution, laundering money, and obstructing a government proceeding. He also confessed to pilfering and trying to conceal the theft of $150,000 in funds earmarked by the DEA. He is expected to be sentenced in the coming months and faces a substantial prison term.
Another co-conspirator, Jeffrey Mark Thompson, known as “The Cowboy,” 62, from Springtown, Texas, also pleaded guilty in November 2023 to similar charges. Thompson awaits sentencing and potentially faces decades behind bars. A fourth defendant, Juan Rachid Dergal-Zulbaran, 49, of Mexico City, remains a fugitive.
DEA Investigation and Sting Operation
The investigation into Zilke’s activities commenced in late 2015 when an undercover DEA agent, posing as a money launderer, made contact with him. Zilke boasted about a client in Europe who needed to move hundreds of millions of dollars to Mexico and proposed using the bank account of a charity in Dallas, Texas, to facilitate the laundering. The undercover agent agreed to aid Zilke by providing bank accounts associated with businesses handling significant cash transactions.
Subsequently, Zilke and his associates arranged numerous cash pickups from drug traffickers across the country. These funds were then deposited into various bank accounts, including those controlled by Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez and Thompson’s purported charity, the Peace Through Water Foundation. Court documents revealed that Zilke, Thompson, and Aldana-Martinez each earned a commission based on the amount laundered through their accounts.
Betrayal and Theft
In a surprising turn of events, Zilke approached the DEA in 2019, offering his cooperation to expose the money laundering organization. However, after being made a cooperator and receiving $200,000 in government funds to deliver to Thompson, Zilke stole $150,000 of the money. He lied to DEA agents about the whereabouts of the funds and made numerous excuses for the delays in transferring the full amount.
Law Enforcement Efforts and Prosecution
The DEA’s Seattle and San Ysidro offices played critical roles in investigating this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie J. Shemitz, James A. Santiago, and Kyle W. Kahan from the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which aims to dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. The successful prosecution of Gustavo Adolfo Aldana-Martinez and his associates highlights the relentless efforts of law enforcement to combat the global scourge of drug trafficking and money laundering.
