3 Texas men sentenced for bulk cash smuggling more than $800,000 in Houston

HOUSTON — Three Texas men were sentenced Monday to federal prison for their roles in the attempted smuggling of a large amount of U.S. currency.

These sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. This joint investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration, Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, and Houston Police Department.

Victor Flores, 45, and José Juan Saavedra, 40, both from Houston, and Ricardo Cavazos-Garza, 51, of Brownsville, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal to 30, 24 and 28 months in federal prison, respectively. Each must also serve three years of supervised release after they complete their prison terms.

The smuggled money had been derived from narcotics trafficking and was destined for Mexico. As part of their respective plea agreements, they each agreed to forfeit their interest in two separately seized sums of cash totaling $838,460. Each previously pleaded guilty to the charges in August 2015.

On April 27, 2015, law enforcement seized $578,420 in Edinburg, Texas. The investigation revealed the cash had been loaded at a residence on the 6200 block of Foxleigh in Houston. The additional sum of $260,040 was seized from that same residence the following day, which was found packaged within a void between the bed and bed liner of a pickup truck parked in the garage.

The investigation concluded that the pickup and money were destined for Mexico. All three men were taken into custody at the time the money was seized.

All defendants have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Best, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.