Brazilian Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Managerial Role in Laundering More Than $30 Million
The Department of Justice announced on October 16 that Ygor Fokin Saviolli, 35, a Brazilian national, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role as a manager and supervisor in a money laundering organization that laundered more than $30 million in illicit proceeds, including the proceeds of drug trafficking. The Brazilian national defendants were illegally residing in the United States at the time of their arrests, the department said.
According to court documents, the organization operated across the United States and spanned several countries. Members arranged for U.S.-based couriers to receive bulk cash proceeds from the sale of controlled substances and deposit the cash at banks across the country, in order to conceal and return those profits to, among others, sources of drug supply operating outside the United States. Dozens of pickups were coordinated through WhatsApp message chains. Saviolli provided upfront funds to facilitate the organization's operations and oversaw the receipt and laundering of the bulk cash drug proceeds.
On September 24, five co-defendants received sentences: Gabriel Cezar Menezes, 29, was sentenced to 94 months; Omar Aliperti De Mello Correa, 34, a U.S. citizen, to 30 months; Leandro De Avila Goncalves, 43, to 24 months; and Joao Andrade De Mello, 29, and Tadeu Sebastiane Rabelo Alves Barbosa, 30, to 12 months and one day each. The defendants' guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit money laundering were accepted in June 2026. (GSM, from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国司法部总部大楼，华盛顿特区 / The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
