Date: October 13, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov BOSTON — A Dominican national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for participating in a money laundering conspiracy that laundered or attempted to launder between $150,000 and $250,000 worth of drug sales proceeds and illegally reentering the United States after being deported. Rafael Pascal was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to four years in prison. Pascal will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. On July 12, 2019, Pascal pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a deported alien and money laundering conspiracy. In January 2002, Pascal was deported to the Dominican Republic. In May 2012, Pascal was located in Palm Beach County, Fla., after illegally reentering the United States. Pascal subsequently pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and was deported in 2013. At some point thereafter, Pascal again illegally reentered the United States prior to being arrested in May 2018 on state drug charges. A fingerprint match at the time of his arrest identified Pascal as a previously deported alien and he was taken into federal custody and charged in this case. From approximately March 2017 through at least July 2017, Pascal participated in a conspiracy to launder money obtained from the sale of controlled substances. Pascal obtained cash proceeds from drug sales from various individuals and then delivered the money to individuals who were responsible for laundering the money. On one occasion, Pascal picked up and delivered $59,060 to an undercover agent. Pascal also arranged for drug sales proceeds in New York to be picked up and laundered. Pascal was held responsible for the laundering of more than $200,000 in drug proceeds. Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R Mendell; Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation in Boston; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Todd Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The Wakefield, Arlington, Ipswich, Somerville and Boston Police Departments provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Arnold and Philip C. Cheng of Mendell's Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case. This effort 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.
