BOSTON, MA — A Colombian man, Jose Edison Montealegre-Fernandez, has been extradited to the United States to face federal charges related to his alleged involvement in a money laundering operation that laundered over $2 million in drug trafficking proceeds. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced his arrival today.
Montealegre-Fernandez, 60, was arrested in Cali, Colombia, on November 10, 2021. He was extradited to the United States on November 15, 2024, and appeared in federal court in Boston where he was ordered detained pending trial.
Montealegre-Fernandez had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on November 4, 2021, on charges of money laundering conspiracy, laundering of monetary instruments, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. According to the indictment, the investigation into the alleged money laundering operation began in November 2017.
Over a span of three years, Montealegre-Fernandez and his associates allegedly laundered over $2 million in drug proceeds through intermediary U.S. banks, including in Massachusetts. The funds were allegedly funneled through U.S. accounts and redirected to repay Colombian drug suppliers.
The investigation into the operation led to the seizure of more than six kilograms of suspected heroin, nearly three kilograms of a mixture testing positive for heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, as well as a hydraulic drug press, a Glock 10mm handgun, an SKS assault rifle with a 100-round magazine, and $250,000 in cash.
Montealegre-Fernandez is accused of coordinating the transfer of bulk drug cash through a network of worldwide pickup points. The charges against him reflect a significant effort to disrupt international money laundering operations tied to drug trafficking.