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Enmanuel Nunez-Reyes, 29, of Paterson became the fifth of six county residents charged in the case to take a deal from the government rather than face trial.
Nunez-Reyes told a federal judge in Newark via videoconference that he accepted more than $2.8 million in cash and bought more than 100 cashier’s checks at local bank branches in New Jersey and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
It was all "part of an illegal money transmitting and money laundering scheme designed to hide the illegal source of the cash and transfer it from New Jersey to the Dominican Republic and Colombia, all while attempting to avoid scrutiny by law enforcement and U.S. banks," the U.S. attorney said.
Morristown police helped the DEA and IRS crack the case, in which those involved were accused of converting cash to more than 1,000 cashier’s checks combined.
They were typically paid a fee of $150 to $200 for each check they purchased, federal authorities said.
The other four defendants to take guilty pleas are all from Paterson: Julio De La Cruz-Acosta, Erickson Checo-Almonte, Willy Cruz-Bonilla and Jordano Abreu-Diaz admitted
Charges apparently are still pending against Felicia Almonte of Passaic.
U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti scheduled an Oct. 18 sentencing for Nunez-Reyes's guilty plea to aiding and abetting an illegal money transmitting business, Sellinger said.
Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, the DEA's Special Operations Division and Santo Domingo Country Office, special agents and task force officers of IRS - Criminal Investigation and both Morristown and Passaic police for gathering the evidence in the case.
The U.S. attorney also cited the work of Direccion Nacional de Control de Drogas (the Dominican Republic National Drug Directorate, or DNCD).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck of his Criminal Division in Newark secured the plea, Sellinger said.
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