Arizona Bank Used to Funnel 11 Million USD in a Money Laundering Scheme

According to Federal prosecutors, a money-laundering scheme has been successful in funneling $11 million through a bank in Arizona. These funds were obtained through drug selling activity. The money ended up in a bank somewhere in Mexico The federal prosecutor also says that it was due to Rico Rico bank manager that the scheme was made possible. 

A suspect, Enrique Moarque Orozco, also accepted his part in developing the scheme in 2017. Orozco’s part was to sit oversee and assist the opening of fraudulent bank accounts with fraudsters. He would also assist them by giving them the funds along with the instruction of where to wire that money. 

In 2018, when banks eliminated the system of cash deposit from anyone except the owner of the account, the Rico Rico schemesters had to turn to the use of smuggling in order to transfer cash from Mexico to Rico Rico. Then the cash would be handed to the holder of funnel accounts who would then deposit the cash eventually with smaller amounts less than $10,000. Then that those funds were wired to a Mexican bank and eventually converted into pesos. 

Orozco’s network had 89 funnel accounts that operated in money laundering activities from 2017. Orozco is also charged with two and a half years of prison by the Santa Cruz County Court in Santa Cruz.