Los Angeles, CA - A federal grand jury has returned a 35-count indictment alleging that a Fashion District outfit was at the center of two schemes, one that avoided the payment of more than $10 million in customs duties on imported clothing, and a second Black Market Peso Exchange scheme in which the company laundered narcotics proceeds and failed to report on tax returns over $17 million derived from cash transactions.
The schemes are outlined in a 49-page indictment, which was filed late Wednesday and is the latest case resulting from an operation in September 2014 when law enforcement authorities executed dozens of search warrants as part of an investigation into money laundering and other crimes at Fashion District businesses. During one of those searches at a downtown condominium linked to the defendants in this case, authorities seized more than $38.3 million in cash.