DETROIT – A local business owner is facing federal charges after investigators say he used his Southwest Detroit restaurant, La Posada, to funnel millions of dollars in drug money to Mexican cartels.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Juan Romo-Padilla, 58, illegally sent structured cash transfers of drug proceeds to Mexico through La Posada — a Mexican restaurant, convenience store and money remitter business —sending over 100,000 wire transfers totaling more than $140 million between 2022 and 2026.
Investigators say nearly all of the funds were sent to Mexican states associated with major drug cartels, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), La Familia Michoacana, and the Sinaloa Cartel.
Romo-Padilla was arrested on Sept. 3 and charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, international money laundering, laundering of represented drug proceeds, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
“Money laundering is not a victimless crime, it is the financial engine that allows drug traffickers to turn illicit profits into the resources that fuel addiction, violence, and death in cities across America,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Dixon, in a news release. “We will follow the money, expose the networks behind these operations, and dismantle the financial infrastructure that allows them to thrive. We are moving with a renewed sense of urgency and will not stop until these criminal networks are destroyed.”
If convicted, Romo-Padilla faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
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