Date: July 13, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Newark, NJ — A Passaic County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in an illegal money transmitting business, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Enmanuel Nunez-Reyes pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti to an information charging him with aiding and abetting an illegal money transmitting business. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From December 2016 through September 2017, Nunez-Reyes accepted over $2.8 million in cash and purchased over 100 cashier's checks at local bank branches in New Jersey and elsewhere, the proceeds of illegal drug distribution. The check purchases were part of an illegal money transmitting and money laundering scheme designed to hide the illegal source of the cash and transfer it from New Jersey to the Dominican Republic and Colombia, all while attempting to avoid scrutiny by law enforcement and U.S. banks. The charge of aiding and abetting an illegal money transmitting business carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount involved in the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for October 18, 2022. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins; special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson; the DEA Special Operations Division, and the Santo Domingo Country Office, under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Renita D. Foster; the Morristown, New Jersey, Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Chief Darnell Richardson; and the Passaic, NJ Police Department under the direction of Chief Luis A. Guzman. U.S. Attorney Sellinger thanked officials in the Dominican Republic for their assistance in the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck of the Criminal Division in Newark. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
