Colombian Model Pleads Guilty in $31 Million Drug Money Laundering Scheme

ATLANTA — Valentina Forero Álvarez has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after leading what federal prosecutors describe as a sophisticated transnational network that funneled more than $31 million in narcotics proceeds through the U.S. financial system.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Forero Álvarez directed couriers to travel from Colombia to the United States on tourist visas to collect bulk cash tied to illegal drug sales. The couriers then deposited the money into bank accounts linked to shell companies or U.S.-based businesses operating in the largely unregulated currency exchange market.

Authorities say the deposits were made in Georgia and at least 14 other states, including Texas, Florida, New York, California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Investigators determined that bank accounts opened by couriers working under Forero Álvarez received more than $31 million in cash deposits. Of that amount, approximately $2.9 million was deposited in the Northern District of Georgia. During the course of the investigation, agents seized more than $4.8 million in suspected drug proceeds.

Federal officials said the operation was designed to disguise the source of narcotics profits and move funds through legitimate financial channels.

“Forero Álvarez presided over an international network that exploited our financial system to launder millions of dollars of drug proceeds,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.

Homeland Security Investigations led the case. Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank said the investigation reflects ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal organizations that rely on complex financial schemes to conceal illegal activity.

Forero Álvarez, 33, of Armenia, Colombia, entered her guilty plea on February 9, 2026. She remains in federal custody and will be sentenced at a later date by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a fine of up to twice the value of the laundered funds, up to three years of supervised release, and forfeiture of property connected to the offense.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Brown and Nicholas L. Evert are prosecuting the case.