Mauricio Chahine, 53, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison for agreeing to launder over $250,000, U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard ruled. The court also ordered Chahine to forfeit $12,000 in proceeds from his money laundering operation. He pleaded guilty on April 30.<\/p>\n
The case began when a confidential source alerted the Drug Enforcement Administration that Chahine was laundering money from the U.S. to other countries. Undercover federal agents then contacted Chahine, who agreed to meet.<\/p>\n
In a March 2024 meeting, undercover agents posing as cocaine traffickers asked Chahine for help moving money. Without hesitation, Chahine asked how much money was involved, where it was going, and how quickly it needed to arrive. When told the money came from cocaine sales, Chahine said he didn\u2019t want to know details.<\/p>\n
Chahine explained his fee was 12% for amounts over $200,000 and 15% for smaller sums. He claimed to have been in the business since 1999 and said he could launder money through various states and countries, including Brazil, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, China, France, and Spain.<\/p>\n
He suggested creating fake invoices to make transactions appear legitimate and described splitting deposits into smaller increments, like $5,000 per day, to avoid detection.<\/p>\n
Over several meetings, Chahine accepted $217,975 in cash and $50,000 in fake currency. He deposited the money into seven corporate accounts at different banks before wiring it back to an undercover government account in smaller amounts. He also asked for fake invoices to support the transactions.<\/p>\n
Chahine has been in custody since his arrest on Nov. 12, 2024, when the court deemed him a flight risk.<\/p>\n
The investigation involved the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office. Prosecutors Kelly S. Milliron and Michael J. Coolican handled the case.<\/p>\n
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation, which targets high-level criminal organizations threatening the U.S.<\/p>\n
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