JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man will spend more than four years in federal prison for laundering money.
Mauricio Chahine, 53, was sentenced to four years and two months behind bars.
Court records show undercover agents posed as drug traffickers and asked Chahine to move money. He quickly agreed, saying he didn’t care where the cash came from.
Chahine even bragged he’d been laundering money since 1999, not just in the U.S., but also in countries like Brazil, Spain, and Colombia.
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He explained how he could split deposits, create fake invoices, and use his businesses to make the money look clean.
Over several months, he accepted more than $217,000 in real cash and another $50,000 in fake bills.
He spread the money across different accounts and then wired it back to the agents in smaller chunks.
Chahine was arrested in November 2024 and has been in custody ever since.
“This case shows how drug traffickers rely on people to hide their profits,” Ronald Loecker, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation said.
The case was handled by the IRS, DEA, and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
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