Valentina Forero Álvarez has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, admitting she led an international network that funneled more than $31 million in drug proceeds through the U.S. financial system.
Federal authorities say the 33-year-old from Armenia, Colombia, orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that relied on couriers posing as tourists to transport and deposit illicit cash into bank accounts across the country.
“Forero Álvarez presided over an international network that exploited our financial system to launder millions of dollars of drug proceeds,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg in a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Multi-State Operation
According to prosecutors, the laundering operation stretched across at least 14 states. Couriers were directed to collect large sums of cash and deposit them into accounts linked to shell companies or businesses operating in the largely unregulated currency exchange sector.
Georgia alone accounted for approximately $2.9 million in deposits, authorities said. During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized more than $4.8 million in suspected drug proceeds.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank described the case as a testament to coordinated law enforcement efforts.
“The successful disruption of this sophisticated money laundering network was the result of outstanding collaboration between HSI, our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Schrank said, adding that authorities remain committed to dismantling transnational criminal enterprises.
Facing Up to 20 Years
Forero Álvarez entered her guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg. She now faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been announced.
The case marks a significant development under Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating cartels, illegal narcotics trafficking, and other transnational criminal threats.
