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Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Executives of CA company bribed cartels to smuggle goods into Mexico, feds say
Two Los Angeles shipping company executives made millions smuggling goods from the U.S. into Mexico in what federal prosecutors are calling a 'massive scheme' that involved shell companies and bribes to public officials and Mexican drug cartels. Ralph Olarte, 55, the chief financial officer of Sport LA Inc., and Humberto Lopez Belmonte, 53, the company's CEO, are accused of smuggling goods worth billions to avoid paying customs duties owed to Mexico for more than a decade, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Olarte, of Glendale, and Lopez, of Mexico City, are facing a 22-count federal indictment, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a May 28 news release. The indictment also names Sport LA Inc. and two of the company's affiliates. Authorities arrested Olarte the evening of May 27 at the Los Angeles International Airport, prosecutors said. Lopez was also arrested May 27, when he appeared at the Los Angeles federal courthouse for an arraignment. Both men have pleaded not guilty, court records show. Olarte's court-appointed public defender, R. Reid Rowe, didn't immediately return McClatchy News' request for comment May 29. Mark Werksman, a defense attorney retained by Lopez, told McClatchy News that 'the government's convoluted allegations against Mr. Lopez Belmonte and his companies are demonstrably false and we look forward to rebutting them in court.' 'The indictment completely distorts and misrepresents how my client and his companies do business,' Werksman said via email on May 29. 'Simply put, there is no truth to these charges.' The 59-page indictment charges Olarte and Lopez with one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States, according to prosecutors. Olarte, Lopez and Sports LA Inc. are also charged with: one count of smuggling goods from the U.S. three counts of knowingly submitting false and misleading export informationfive counts of wire fraud for false information submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Mexicoone count of conspiracy to commit money launderingseven counts of international promotional and concealment money laundering. 'From at least 2013 to the present,' prosecutors said Olarte and Lopez used several companies to run a 'lucrative international shipping enterprise' as part of their scheme that defrauded Mexico out of hundreds of millions of dollars, prosecutors said. With their companies, they deceived U.S. customs officials to smuggle goods, including items with contraband inside, to Mexico, according to prosecutors, who said the companies provided 'millions' of false statements to U.S. customs. Olarte and Lopez protected their customers with shell companies based in Mexico, prosecutors said. They also forged documents that seemingly showed they had paid required import taxes to Mexico, according to prosecutors. Olarte and Lopez are accused of bribing Mexican customs officials and paid 'kickbacks' to members of Mexican drug cartels, such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in exchange for their help in the scheme — and to smuggle large amounts of cash into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 'Olarte and Lopez then laundered the proceeds of their scheme back from the true Mexican customers, through the shell companies, and ultimately into the companies' U.S. bank accounts,' prosecutors said. The men are being investigated by multiple federal agencies: Homeland Security Investigations, CBP, the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to prosecutors.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California freight forwarder charged with smuggling billions in goods
Executives at a Los Angeles freight forwarding company smuggled billions of dollars in goods into Mexico from the U.S. for over a decade in a lucrative scheme involving drug cartels and corrupt customs agents, federal prosecutors say. Ralph Olarte, 55, and Humberto Lopez Belmonte, 53, used 'fraudulent documents, shell companies, bribes to public officials, and kickbacks to Mexican cartels' in the scheme, which lasted from at least 2013 to 2024, according to the 22-count indictment against Olarte, Lopez and their company, Sport LA Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Olarte, a U.S. citizen, and Lopez, a citizen of Mexico, allegedly hid the nature of the goods as well as the identities of the actual recipients from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Among items originating in the U.S. and exported to Mexico or funneled through the U.S. from other countries and then to Mexico were contraband including counterfeit cell phone batteries and medical devices, as well as goods that required licenses, such as handguns, ammunition, electronic cigarettes and marijuana, the indictment states. Mexican shell companies received the goods. The defendants avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in duties owed to the Mexican government by bribing Mexican customs officials, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's used WhatsApp to direct truck drivers into specific Mexican customs lanes where officials who had been bribed were assigned. The agents permitted the trucks to enter Mexico without paying duties, the indictment alleges. The defendants then smuggled large amounts of cash from payment for the goods into the U.S., which they laundered through the Mexican shell companies and back to the shipping companies they controlled. 'Throughout the conspiracy, defendants OLARTE and LOPEZ wired, and caused to be wired, tens of millions of dollars from the shell consignee accounts to the HRL defendants,' according to the indictment. Both men allegedly received millions of dollars in the scheme. Sport LA Inc. was a bonded freight carrier that did business as HRL, H&R Logistics and under other names. Lopez was CEO and secretary, and Olarte was chief financial officer. Bonded carriers are permitted to ship goods through the United States to other defendants also facilitated kickbacks to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and other cartels, which allowed them to continue operations, and used contacts with law enforcement in Mexico to ensure the goods reached their intended destinations, prosecutors say. The charges range from conspiracy to commit money laundering to smuggling goods from the United States to submitting false and misleading export information. Lopez pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, the day he was arrested, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. A July 21 trial date was scheduled, and he was ordered released on a $100,000 bond. It was not immediately clear whether Olarte, who was also arrested on Tuesday, had entered a plea. If convicted, Olarte and Lopez face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count related to wire fraud and money laundering, up to five years for each count related to smuggling and making false statements, and up to two years for each count of knowingly submitting false and misleading export information. Mark Werksman, Lopez's lawyer, told Courthouse News Service that Lopez denies the accusations. 'We look forward to defending against these charges in court, and we're confident that a jury will agree that Mr. Lopez, his co-workers and his company did nothing wrong,' Werksman said. Homeland Security Investigations, CBP, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration are involved in the investigation. Related:Armenian crime rings charged with attempted murder, $83M Amazon cargo theft The post California freight forwarder charged with smuggling billions in goods appeared first on FreightWaves.
