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Mexican restaurant owner charged with money laundering
Officials say 58-year-old Juan Romo-Padilla, who is the owner of Mexican restaurant ‘La Posada' in Southwest Detroit, was arrested on Thursday following a joint investigation by the DEA and IRS.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A business owner out of Detroit was arrested by Homeland Security for alleged international money laundering with major drug cartels in Mexico.
Big picture view:
Officials say 58-year-old Juan Romo-Padilla, who is the owner of Mexican restaurant ‘La Posada' in Southwest Detroit, was arrested on Thursday following a joint investigation by the DEA and IRS.
Romo-Padilla faces charges of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, international money laundering, laundering of represented drug proceeds, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, announced US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.
According to a federal criminal complaint, agents from DEA and IRS-CI have been investigating Romo-Padilla since 2024 for illegally sending cash transfers of drug proceeds to Mexico through La Posada.
Dig deeper:
US officials say between 2022 and 2026, Romo-Padilla conducted over 100,000 wire transfers, totaling $140 million. Nearly all the funds were sent to Mexican states associated with major drug cartels.
"Money laundering is not a victimless crime, it is the financial engine that allows drug traffickers to turn illicit profits into the resources that fuel addiction, violence, and death in cities across America," said Special Agent in Charge Dixon. "We will follow the money, expose the networks behind these operations, and dismantle the financial infrastructure that allows them to thrive. We are moving with a renewed sense of urgency and will not stop until these criminal networks are destroyed."
What's next:
If Romo-Padilla is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
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The Source: FOX 2 used information from the US Attorney's Office Eastern District of Michigan on this report.