NEWARK, NJ — A Newark man was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a large international money laundering conspiracy and using a stolen identity in furtherance of the scheme, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced June 22.
Edwin Deleon-Batista, 37, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of identity fraud. Hayden imposed the sentence June 22 in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from March 2018 through October 2019, Deleon-Batista laundered more than $23 million in cash drug proceeds on behalf of a money-laundering organization with close ties to drug-trafficking organizations in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. Deleon-Batista allegedly picked up large amounts of cash drug proceeds in New Jersey, New York and Florida, and laundered it by purchasing cashier’s checks at local bank branches. The checks were made payable to individuals and companies specified by the leaders of the money-laundering organization. By converting the drug proceeds to cashier’s checks, Deleon-Batista tried to hide the source of the illegal cash and avoid scrutiny by law enforcement and banks.
Deleon-Batista was previously arrested on federal money-laundering charges in New York in April 2019. Soon after his arrest, Deleon-Batista allegedly began using a stolen identity and obtained a fraudulent identification card issued by the state of Florida to continue the money-laundering scheme. He used the fraudulent ID card to open several bank accounts, which he then used as a means to convert millions more in cash drug proceeds into cashier’s checks at bank branches in New Jersey, New York and Florida during a five-month period.
In addition to the prison term, Hayden sentenced Deleon-Batista to three years of supervised release.
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