Buffalo Man Guilty of Money Laundering

BUFFALO—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Henry Lloyd, 25, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $728,020, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Moscati, who is handling the case, stated that Lloyd conspired with others to transport $364,010 in a vehicle equipped with a hidden compartment where the money was secreted. The vehicle was stopped in eastern Texas, where law enforcement officers discovered and seized the currency. Lloyd admitted the money was going to be used to buy cocaine. The case is related to a multi-kilogram cocaine distribution network between Buffalo and Houston, Texas. Twenty defendants were arrested in that case, and, to date, 17 have been convicted.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Wilbert L. Plummer; Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Frank Christiano.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 1, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.