SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A California woman is serving a 19 and a half year federal sentence for distributing meth and money laundering.
Maribel Torres, 37, from Escondido, California was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison by Judge Karen Schreier on November 1.
After being indicted by a grand jury in July 2020, she pled guilty in June 2021.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Torres was not only distributing over a pound of meth in South Dakota, but also sending proceeds of the sales out of state and to foreign countries.
Below is the USAO’s news release.
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Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that an Escondido, California, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments was sentenced on November 1, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Maribel Torres, age 37, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victim Fund.
Torres was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments by a federal grand jury on July 20, 2020. She pled guilty on June 21, 2021.
Beginning on an unknown date and continuing until on or about July 2020, Torres reached an agreement or came to an understanding to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of a substance containing methamphetamine in the District of South Dakota. During her involvement, she facilitated and directed the transportation and distribution of methamphetamine in South Dakota and elsewhere.
Additionally, beginning at an unknown date and continuing to on or about July 2020, in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere, Torres reached an agreement or came to an understanding to conduct and attempt to conduct financial transactions affecting interstate and foreign commerce. During her involvement, she wired funds derived from the sale of methamphetamine by utilizing various financial institutions. She also directed co-conspirators to do the same on her behalf. Further, she helped coordinate with co-conspirators the movement of cash drug proceeds across state lines.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Nash prosecuted the case.
Torres was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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