Florida woman sentenced to 14 years for role in international cocaine trafficking ring and money laundering

 

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Date: March 2, 2022

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

A former resident of Plantation, Florida, has been sentenced in federal court to a total term of 178 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release on her convictions for violating money laundering and narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Marcia Cunningham.

According to information presented to the court, Cunningham was part of an international drug trafficking organization that arranged for the importation of multiple kilograms of cocaine from Mexico that were then distributed, through the United States mails, to various customers throughout the United States, including several customers in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Cunningham set up a post office box using a fake name and fake identification documents that was used in the conspiracy.

Cunningham was particularly instrumental in the money laundering activities of the conspiracy. She used dozens of bank accounts to launder the drug trafficking proceeds that were then used to purchase luxury vehicles, real estate, jewelry, and other items that supported her exorbitant lifestyle. She also arranged to use drug trafficking proceeds to purchase assets in Jamacia, where she hoped to live eventually and from where she immigrated to the United States. As she was not a citizen of the United States, the expectation is that she will be deported once she completes her sentence.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway and Maureen Sheehan Balcon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.