Date: April 15, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
ATLANTA — On April 1, 2025, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker. Five of these defendants, all of Norcross, Georgia – Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez – were arrested earlier today, on April 15, 2025, in a coordinated effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and local law enforcement. The defendants were arraigned before a United States Magistrate Judge following their arrests.
“Thanks to the great investigative work of our federal partners and local law enforcement, five individuals working on behalf of the violent JNGC cartel have been taken off our streets,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow these criminal enterprises to continue profiting off of the death and destruction of American lives.”
“The defendants allegedly trafficked high volumes of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our community and then laundered the illicit proceeds of their activities as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker, including more than $1 million during a mere two-month period,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “Although these individuals took great measures to conceal their alleged criminal conduct, a determined and coordinated effort by our federal and local law enforcement partners helped to secure the federal charges in this case.”
“Using our expertise in financial investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is following the money, despite attempts by criminals to cover their tracks,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS-CI, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-CI special agents in partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies, will continue our work investigating and holding accountable those responsible for bringing dangerous drugs into our communities.”
“The deadly impact of fentanyl on our communities is devastating,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “These arrests should be a clear message to the traffickers that keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the indictment, and other information presented in court: In September 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross. The middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to defendants Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel (“Chilel”) and her daughter Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez (“Perez”), who then laundered the proceeds as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker. Chilel and Perez allegedly operated a money service business (“MSB”) in Norcross called “La Pulga Esperenza.”
Between September and November 2024, DEA saw several traffickers deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspected drug proceeds to the middleman in Norcross, who then transferred the cash to Chilel and Perez. Agents with the IRS-CI analyzed the MSB’s transactions and determined that the cash was wired to Mexico but was transferred in small increments so as not to raise suspicion by federal regulators. During a period of approximately two months, this ring of individuals allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico.
During the investigation, the DEA identified several alleged traffickers who transported the drug proceeds to Norcross, including defendants David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez. DEA identified one of the primary traffickers as being a member and/or associate of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (“CJNG”). Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, some of the traffickers also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl that they intended to distribute on behalf of the drug trafficking ring.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Georgia State Patrol, Dekalb County, Georgia, Police Department, Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department, and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Dwayne A. Brown, Jr. are prosecuting the case.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.