An Ohio brother and sister, Christopher Grover Reynolds and Claudette Reynolds, were sentenced to 37 months in prison for laundering drug proceeds on behalf of a Mexico-based cartel. The sentencing took place in Lexington, Kentucky, before U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell.
Court documents show that Christopher Reynolds collected money from the sale of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana in Toledo, Ohio. He then notified the cartel that the funds were ready for laundering and transfer to Mexico. On six occasions, either he or his sister delivered a total of $784,045. The funds were later sent to Mexico using cryptocurrency.
A search at Christopher Reynolds’s home and a traffic stop involving Claudette Reynolds led to the seizure of $184,415 in cash, several pounds of marijuana, counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, two firearms—a .40 caliber pistol and an AR-15 rifle—and a money counting machine.
Under federal law, both siblings must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before becoming eligible for release. After serving their prison terms, they will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years.
“The defendants helped Mexican drug traffickers collect and disguise the profits from selling methamphetamine and fentanyl in Toledo,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their money laundering activities fueled the importation of dangerous drugs into the Midwest. This prosecution reflects the Criminal Division’s commitment to staunch the flow of cash to cartels and protect communities from the devastating consequences of drug trafficking.”
“Money launderers like the Reynolds are critical links in the cartel’s drug trafficking chain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Paul McCaffrey. “We are grateful for the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners in working to disrupt and dismantle that chain.”
“Every dollar they laundered was done so on the backs of overdose victims and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Division. “By acting as the cartel’s bankers, these siblings helped fuel the fentanyl and meth crisis tearing through Ohio. DEA will hunt down anyone who dares to wash cartel money — because if you launder blood money for drug traffickers, you will face justice alongside them.”
The investigation was conducted by agents from multiple offices within the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), including those based in Lexington as well as Detroit; Rocky Mountain; Mexico; Toledo; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Birmingham; Chicago; Cincinnati; Tulsa; Oklahoma City; Louisville; Baltimore; Des Moines; Milwaukee; Portland; Columbia; and Rapid City divisions. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division also assisted with this case.
Trial Attorney Elizabeth R. Rabe from the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section worked with Deputy Criminal Chief Gary Todd Bradbury from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of Kentucky on prosecution efforts.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative by federal authorities aimed at combating illegal immigration as well as eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations across communities nationwide by leveraging resources from programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
