https://www.tampafp.com/ohio-brother-and-sister-sentenced-to-federal-prison-for-laundering-cartel-drug-money/

An Ohio brother and sister have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a sophisticated money laundering operation that funneled drug proceeds from the streets of Toledo back to a Mexican cartel.

Christopher Grover Reynolds, 52, and his sister, Claudette Reynolds, 51, both of Toledo, were sentenced for their participation in the conspiracy, which saw them collect and transfer nearly $800,000 in cash from the sale of illegal drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. Christopher Reynolds received a sentence of over six years in prison, while his sister was sentenced to two years. Both will also serve three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Christopher Reynolds was the primary contact for the cartel, collecting drug money from sales in Toledo. He would then notify the cartel when the funds were ready for transfer. On at least six separate occasions, he personally delivered the funds or enlisted his sister, Claudette, to do so. The total amount laundered by the siblings was $784,045, which was ultimately transferred to Mexico via cryptocurrency.

“The defendants helped Mexican drug traffickers collect and disguise the profits from selling methamphetamine and fentanyl in Toledo,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their money laundering activities fueled the importation of dangerous drugs into the Midwest.”

Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Division, emphasized the direct link between the siblings’ actions and the human cost of the drug trade. “Every dollar they laundered was done so on the backs of overdose victims and their families,” Scott said. “By acting as the cartel’s bankers, these siblings helped fuel the fentanyl and meth crisis tearing through Ohio.”

A search of Christopher Reynolds’s residence and a traffic stop of Claudette Reynolds resulted in a significant seizure by investigators.

Authorities confiscated $184,415 in bulk cash, several pounds of marijuana, counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl, a money counting machine, and two firearms: a .40 caliber pistol and an AR-15 rifle.