A federal jury convicted a couple from Bear on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and related offenses. In one instance the money was used to construct an underground bunker at their home.
Prosecutors said the activity came in connection with an eight-year scheme to launder drug proceeds.
The jury separately found that thirteen properties were involved in the money laundering offenses and are subject to criminal forfeiture. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas accepted the verdict.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, between 2009 and 2017, Omar Morales Colon, 45, and his wife Shakira Martinez, 44, laundered over a million dollars in drug proceeds through the purchase of properties in Delaware and Pennsylvania using their company, Zemi Property Management.
They deposited drug sales funs into several different bank accounts – and asked their friends and family members to do the same. Funds were used to buy cashier’s checks that funded the property purchases.
The government also presented evidence at trial that Colon made improvements to those properties using drug proceeds, including paying cash to have an underground bunker installed beneath his home in Bear.
Colon was arrested on May 6, 2017, shortly after giving his cocaine supplier $382,045 in cash in a hotel parking lot in Newark, according to prosecutors. The Drug Enforcement Administration then discovered the underground bunker beneath Colon’s residence, accessed by a tunnel behind a false fireplace, in which Colon hid a marijuana growing operation.
U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss issued the following: “The defendant was a sophisticated drug trafficker who conspired with others, including members of the Sinaloa cartel, to bring vast amounts of cocaine into Delaware. He and Ms. Martinez also laundered the proceeds of his drug activity through the U.S. financial system. The DEA’s investigation led to the seizure of 17 kilograms of cocaine, pounds of marijuana, nearly $1 million in cash, and the conviction of a major drug trafficker. My office will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who profit from illegal drug operations by not only prosecuting them, but also endeavoring to deprive them of the fruits of their illegal activities.”
“Colon and Martinez underestimated IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agents’ hallmark expertise,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty. These defendants thought they could hide the source of their ill-gotten gains, but the overwhelming evidence presented to the jury during trial showed just how wrong they were. This guilty verdict is a reminder that our commitment to unraveling complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes remain unwavering.”
Colon was convicted in September 2021 of related counts – conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Colon faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison when sentenced, with a maximum of life. Martinez faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Bibas will determine the defendants’ sentences, after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer K. Welsh and Meredith C. Ruggles are prosecuting the case. This case was investigated by the DEA Philadelphia Division and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
