Latest news with #LindaCristinaPereyra
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Florida court orders convicted "supercop" and wife to pay over $2.4 billion to Mexico after taking cartel bribes
How the FBI captured 2 leaders of the Sinaloa cartel A Florida court on Thursday ordered a former Mexican security chief convicted of drug trafficking and his wife to pay more than $2.4 billion to their country, Mexico's government said. Mexico sued Genaro Garcia Luna, who is imprisoned in the United States, for alleged corruption and money laundering involving dozens of public contracts. The ruling is the latest twist in the saga of the former high-flying minister who earned himself the nickname of "supercop" but instead aided and abetted drug traffickers. The money awarded by a Florida court is three times the amount that the Mexican government had originally sought, a government statement said. It said Garcia Luna was ordered to pay nearly $749 million and his wife Linda Cristina Pereyra is to pay a staggering $1.74 billion. Mexico's Genaro Garcia Luna speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Mexico City, Sept. 3, 2009. Dario Lopez-Mills / AP "The judgment is consistent with seven guilty verdicts previously issued and enforced against Garcia Luna, his wife, and his five companies as a result of their failure to appear at trial," the statement added. It said that nearly $3 million had already been recovered from assets, including a company owned by the couple, as well as real estate. Garcia Luna, 56, was convicted by a U.S. court in 2023 of taking millions of dollars in bribes to allow the Sinaloa Cartel to smuggle tons of cocaine. According to the U.S. Justice Department, former cartel members testified that bribe money was handed off to Garcia Luna in a variety of locations, including at a "safe house" where cash was hidden in a false wall, at a car wash and at a French restaurant across the street from the U.S. Embassy. Garcia Lina was paid in U.S. cash, "stuffed variously in suitcases, briefcases and duffel bags," prosecutors said. A New York judge sentenced him to more than 38 years in prison and a $2 million fine. During former Sinaloa kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's trial in the same court in 2018, a former cartel member testified that he personally delivered at least $6 million in payoffs to García Luna, and that cartel members agreed to pool up to $50 million to pay for his protection. "El Chapo" is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado after being convicted in 2019 on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons-related offenses. Garcia Luna, who held high-ranking security positions in his country from 2001 until 2012, was the highest-ranking Mexican government figure ever to face trial in the United States. He served as chief of the Mexican equivalent of the FBI from 2001 until 2006, when he was elevated to secretary of public security, essentially running the federal police force and most counter-drug operations. Garcia Luna is considered an architect of the U.S.-backed war on drugs launched in 2006 by Mexico's then president Felipe Calderon. In 2012, after retiring from public service, he moved to the United States and used his extensive contacts to win lucrative contracts with the Mexican government. He was arrested in December 2019 in Dallas, Texas. The Mexican government accused a business conglomerate belonging to Garcia Luna's family of obtaining 30 public contracts and obtaining funds totaling more than $745 million. Linda Cristina Pereyra leaves federal court after her husband Genaro García Luna was found guilty of taking massive bribes to protect the violent drug cartels he was tasked with combating, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in New York. John Minchillo / AP Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit alleged that the money was transferred abroad through the use of tax havens and the acquisition of property and other assets in Florida. Garcia Luna was sentenced less than three months after the dramatic arrest on U.S. soil of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who claimed he had been kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into U.S. custody against his will. Zambada was detained along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo.
Malay Mail
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
US court orders convicted ‘super cop', wife to pay Mexico US$2.4b in corruption case penalty
MEXICO CITY, May 23 — A US court yesterday ordered a former Mexican security chief convicted of drug trafficking and his wife to pay more than US$2.4 billion (RM10.2 billion) to their country, Mexico's government said. Mexico sued Genaro Garcia Luna, who is imprisoned in the United States, for alleged corruption and money laundering involving dozens of public contracts. The ruling is the latest twist in the saga of the former high-flying minister who earned himself the nickname of 'supercop' but instead aided and abetted drug traffickers. The money awarded by a Florida court is three times the amount that the Mexican government had originally sought, a government statement said. It said Garcia Luna was ordered to pay nearly US$749 million and his wife Linda Cristina Pereyra is to pay a staggering US$1.74 billion. 'The judgment is consistent with seven guilty verdicts previously issued and enforced against Garcia Luna, his wife, and his five companies as a result of their failure to appear at trial,' the statement added. It said that nearly US$3 million had already been recovered from assets, including a company owned by the couple, as well as real estate. Garcia Luna, 56, was convicted by a US court in 2023 of taking millions of dollars in bribes to allow the Sinaloa Cartel to smuggle tons of cocaine. A New York judge sentenced him to more than 38 years in prison and a US$2 million fine. Garcia Luna, who held high-ranking security positions in his country from 2001 until 2012, was the highest-ranking Mexican government figure ever to face trial in the United States. He served as chief of the Mexican equivalent of the FBI from 2001 until 2006, when he was elevated to secretary of public security, essentially running the federal police force and most counter-drug operations. Garcia Luna is considered an architect of the US-backed war on drugs launched in 2006 by Mexico's then president Felipe Calderon. In 2012, after retiring from public service, he moved to the United States and used his extensive contacts to win lucrative contracts with the Mexican government. He was arrested in December 2019 in Dallas, Texas. The Mexican government accused a business conglomerate belonging to Garcia Luna's family of obtaining 30 public contracts and obtaining funds totaling more than US$745 million. Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit alleged that the money was transferred abroad through the use of tax havens and the acquisition of property and other assets in Florida. — AFP
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida court orders ex-Mexican security chief to pay millions to Mexico
A Florida court has ordered Mexico's former head of public security to pay more than $748m to his home country for his alleged involvement in government corruption. Thursday's ruling brought to a close a civil case first filed in September 2021 by the Mexican government. The case centred on Genaro Garcia Luna, who served as Mexico's security chief from 2006 to 2012. Garcia Luna is currently serving more than 38 years in a United States prison for allegedly accepting millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. The Mexican government alleges that Garcia Luna also stole millions in taxpayer funds, and it has pledged to seek restitution, namely by filing a legal complaint in Miami, Florida, where it says some of the illegal activity took place. On Thursday, Judge Lisa Walsh in Miami-Dade County not only required Garcia Luna to pay millions, but she also ordered his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, to pay $1.7bn. Altogether, the total neared $2.4bn. In its initial 2021 complaint, the Mexican government – led at the time by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador – accused Garcia Luna, his wife and their co-defendants of having 'concealed funds stolen from the government' and smuggling the money to places like Barbados and the US. 'Under the direction of the Defendant GARCIA LUNA, the funds unlawfully taken from the government of MEXICO were used to build a money-laundering empire,' the complaint wrote. It alleged those funds were used to finance 'lavish lifestyles' for Garcia Luna and his co-conspirators, including real estate holdings, bank accounts and vintage cars, among them Mustangs from the 1960s and '70s. Separately, Garcia Luna faced criminal charges for corruption, with US authorities accusing him of pocketing millions while in office for working on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. Through his work with Mexico's federal police and as its security chief, US prosecutors say Garcia Luna accessed information that he later used to tip off the Sinaloa cartel, letting them know about investigations and the movements of rival criminal groups. Garcia Luna was also accused of helping the cartel move its shipments of cocaine to destinations like the US, sometimes using Mexico's federal police as bodyguards – and even allowing cartel members to wear official uniforms. In exchange, prosecutors say the cartel left money for him in hiding places, one of which was a French restaurant across the street from the US embassy in Mexico City. Some bundles of cash – offered in $100 bills – totalled up to $10,000. After leaving office in 2012, Garcia Luna moved to the US. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His defence lawyers have described him as a successful businessman living in Florida. But in February 2023, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Garcia Luna on drug-related charges, including international cocaine conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. The following year, in October, he was sentenced to decades in prison. The Mexican government, however, alleged in its civil lawsuit that Garcia Luna also led a 'government-contracting scheme' that included bid-tampering and striking dubious deals as a form of money laundering. Those contracts included deals for surveillance and communications equipment. The Associated Press news agency reported that one such contract was falsified, and others were inflated. Garcia Luna is the highest-level Mexican government official to be convicted in the US.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Florida court orders ex-Mexican security chief to pay millions to Mexico
A Florida court has ordered Mexico's former head of public security to pay more than $748m to his home country for his alleged involvement in government corruption. Thursday's ruling brought to a close a civil case first filed in September 2021 by the Mexican government. The case centred on Genaro Garcia Luna, who served as Mexico's security chief from 2006 to 2012. Garcia Luna is currently serving more than 38 years in a United States prison for allegedly accepting millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. The Mexican government alleges that Garcia Luna also stole millions in taxpayer funds, and it has pledged to seek restitution, namely by filing a legal complaint in Miami, Florida, where it says some of the illegal activity took place. On Thursday, Judge Lisa Walsh in Miami-Dade County not only required Garcia Luna to pay millions, but she also ordered his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, to pay $1.7bn. Altogether, the total neared $2.4bn. In its initial 2021 complaint, the Mexican government – led at the time by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador – accused Garcia Luna, his wife and their co-defendants of having 'concealed funds stolen from the government' and smuggling the money to places like Barbados and the US. 'Under the direction of the Defendant GARCIA LUNA, the funds unlawfully taken from the government of MEXICO were used to build a money-laundering empire,' the complaint wrote. It alleged those funds were used to finance 'lavish lifestyles' for Garcia Luna and his co-conspirators, including real estate holdings, bank accounts and vintage cars, among them Mustangs from the 1960s and '70s. Separately, Garcia Luna faced criminal charges for corruption, with US authorities accusing him of pocketing millions while in office for working on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. Through his work with Mexico's federal police and as its security chief, US prosecutors say Garcia Luna accessed information that he later used to tip off the Sinaloa cartel, letting them know about investigations and the movements of rival criminal groups. Garcia Luna was also accused of helping the cartel move its shipments of cocaine to destinations like the US, sometimes using Mexico's federal police as bodyguards – and even allowing cartel members to wear official uniforms. In exchange, prosecutors say the cartel left money for him in hiding places, one of which was a French restaurant across the street from the US embassy in Mexico City. Some bundles of cash – offered in $100 bills – totalled up to $10,000. After leaving office in 2012, Garcia Luna moved to the US. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His defence lawyers have described him as a successful businessman living in Florida. But in February 2023, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Garcia Luna on drug-related charges, including international cocaine conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. The following year, in October, he was sentenced to decades in prison. The Mexican government, however, alleged in its civil lawsuit that Garcia Luna also led a 'government-contracting scheme' that included bid-tampering and striking dubious deals as a form of money laundering. Those contracts included deals for surveillance and communications equipment. The Associated Press news agency reported that one such contract was falsified, and others were inflated. Garcia Luna is the highest-level Mexican government official to be convicted in the US.
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Washington Post
Florida court awards Mexican government massive civil judgment against former security chief
MEXICO CITY — A Florida court awarded the Mexican government a massive civil judgment Thursday against its former security chief who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence in the United States for taking bribes from drug traffickers. Judge Lisa Walsh ordered Genaro García Luna to pay more than $748 million and his wife Linda Cristina Pereyra to hand over more than $1.7 billion.
