The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced the sentencing of two Lancaster men, Christopher Lopez and Michael Torres, on money laundering charges. The sentences were handed down by United States District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson on January 23, 2025. Lopez received a sentence of one year and one day in prison, while Torres was sentenced to six months. Both will serve one year of supervised release after completing their prison terms.
Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus reported that Lopez owned C&D Motorsports, a car dealership in Lancaster where Torres worked as a salesperson. An investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) began in 2019 after reports indicated that C&D Motorsports catered to drug traffickers and failed to file currency transaction reports for cash sales over $10,000.
In an undercover operation conducted by IRS-CI agents posing as a drug trafficker and his girlfriend, meetings with Torres and Lopez at C&D Motorsports took place on October 16, 2019. Discussions included purchasing a vehicle with drug trafficking proceeds and omitting the trafficker's name from paperwork. On December 11, 2019, agents returned to complete a cash purchase with the vehicle titled in another person's name.
A federal grand jury indicted Lopez and Torres in February 2022 for conspiring to commit money laundering with proceeds believed to be from drug trafficking. After a four-day trial in February 2024, both were found guilty of accepting more than $33,000 from cocaine sales and concealing its origin by titling the vehicle under another name.
Amy MacNeely, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation Philadelphia Field Office stated: “IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes where individuals attempt to conceal the true source of their money.”
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at disrupting high-level criminal organizations through collaborative efforts among various law enforcement agencies.
The investigation was carried out by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian Haugsby and Joseph Terz prosecuted the case.