JACKSONVILLE, Fla — 53-year-old Mauricio Chahin of Jacksonville has been sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison for engaging in money laundering. The court also ordered him to forfeit $12,000 in proceeds from his money laundering enterprise. Chahine pleaded guilty on April 30, 2025.
According to court documents and evidence presented at Chahine’s sentencing hearing, a confidential source notified the Drug Enforcement Administration that Chahine was a money launderer with the ability to launder funds from the United States to other countries. An undercover federal agent contacted Chahine and asked to meet in person. Chahine agreed. During a meeting in March 2024, a pair of undercover agents played the role of cocaine traffickers and told Chahine that they needed help moving money around. Without hesitating, Chahine said he needed to know how much money, where it was going, and how fast they needed it at the destination. When one of the agents asked if Chahine knew what they did, Chahine replied that he did not care. The agent then told Chahine that he sells some of the “white stuff,” referring to cocaine. Chahine responded that he did not want to know. The undercover agent explained that due to his work, he had large amounts of bulk currency in different places. Chahine reiterated that all he needed to know was where the money was going and how they wanted it, including “big bills or small bills,” and identified his fee as 12% for amounts over $200,000 and 15% for amounts under $200,000.
Chahine suggested that he had been in the business since 1999 and advertised his abilities to launder money in various states and countries, including Brazil, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, China, France, and Spain. Chahine suggested that they may need to create invoices to make it appear as though they were buying or selling merchandise. He also explained how he had multiple businesses and offered to move money through his bank accounts. During the meeting, Chahine mentioned that he would not deposit currency he received all at once; instead, he would split it up and deposit the money in increments of $5,000 per day.
A series of meetings followed between Chahine and additional undercover agents during which Chahine accepted money to launder. Over the course of five transactions, Chahine accepted $217,975 in cash and $50,000 in fake currency. He divided and deposited the money into seven different corporate accounts at various banks before being wired back to an undercover government account in different increments. On different occasions, Chahine asked an undercover agent to supply him with a fake invoice to make it appear as if they were engaged in legitimate business.
Chahine has been in custody since November 12, 2024, when he was arrested and detained by the court as a flight risk.
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