A Mexican national, Israel Ortiz Velasco, 33, has been sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to launder money and import controlled substances into the United States. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves issued the sentence, which relates to offenses involving more than 400 grams of fentanyl and at least five kilograms of cocaine.
According to court documents, Ortiz worked with others between June and December 2017 to distribute fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico into the United States. While residing in Mexico, Ortiz coordinated with associates who supplied both powder fentanyl, counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, and approximately 25 kilograms of cocaine to be distributed in the Eastern District of Kentucky. After the drugs were sold in Kentucky, cash proceeds were sent back to Mexico through wire transfers, structured bank deposits, and other money laundering techniques.
Ortiz admitted his role in these activities as part of his plea agreement. He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence under federal law. Upon release from prison, he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for ten years.
Paul C. McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge at DEA Louisville Field Division; Lawrence Weathers, Chief of Police for Lexington Police Department; and Phillip J. Burnett Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police announced the sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Kentucky State Police (KSP). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury.
“This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” according to officials involved in the case. “The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.” The task force includes agents from FBI, ATF, DEA, IRS, and HSI with prosecutions led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
