Two men have been sentenced to prison for laundering money in the St. Louis area on behalf of the Sinaloa drug cartel, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk handed down sentences on Tuesday to Carl Von Garrett, 55, of St. Charles, Missouri, and Tobiyyah Israel, 39, of Ohio. Von Garrett received a sentence of 135 months in prison, while Israel was sentenced to 36 months. Both were convicted by a jury in May on one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Von Garrett faced an additional conviction for another count of money laundering.
Trial evidence showed that Von Garrett laundered nearly $1 million through seven transactions during the spring of 2021 for the Sinaloa cartel. During sentencing, Judge Pitlyk commented on the impact of these actions: “the large quantity of money in the case reflected significant drug sales and that Von Garrett’s crime was ‘threatening to the community.’”
Luis Miguel Hernandez, 38, of Phoenix, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering. He admitted being driven by Von Garrett to meet with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force officer in St. Louis on March 1, 2021. Hernandez delivered $100,095 in drug proceeds at that meeting and arranged subsequent meetings between Antonio Jones, 51, of Florissant, Missouri, and the officer.
On March 8, Jones handed over $100,000; he delivered $150,030 on March 17 and $100,000 on March 31; then $109,740 on April 8.
Evidence indicated that Israel acted as a courier similar to Jones. On April 14, Israel picked up $221,020 from Von Garrett. Investigators stopped Von Garrett afterward and found six phones along with a ledger containing dates and amounts matching cash drops described in court testimony. Israel told investigators he had been promised $1,000 for picking up the cash and said it was not his first time doing so.
Jones later delivered additional sums: $100,100 on May 18 and another $100,100 on May 25.
Hernandez was sentenced in January to 87 months in prison; Jones received a sentence of 37 months after pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the DEA; Internal Revenue Service; FBI; St. Louis County Police; Bridgeton Police Department; St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; and St. Charles County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Delworth and Ricardo Dixon prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation—a program designed to identify and dismantle high-level criminal organizations using a multi-agency approach led by prosecutors with intelligence support.
More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
