DENVER—A federal grand jury has indicted three people accused of helping launder drug money through automobile sales.
Raul Mendoza and Julia Castillo-Caraveo, both of Denver, and Isidro Noe Mendoza-Ortiz, of Thornton, are scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of structuring and money laundering.
Banks are required to report deposits that top $10,000. An indictment alleges the defendants conspired to structure daily cash receipts from Mendoza’s business, Chopeque Auto Sales in Commerce City, so that they wouldn’t trigger the reporting requirement.
The indictment also says undercover officers using money that they said came from drug dealing bought vehicles from Mendoza’s business. The vehicles each cost more than $10,000, but the indictment alleges Mendoza’s business didn’t file the required reports for cash transactions topping $10,000.
