Honduran national sentenced for fentanyl trafficking and money laundering

OAKLAND, California — Christian Grajeda-Varela, a 25-year-old Honduran national, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for fentanyl trafficking and money laundering. The sentence was issued by United States District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr.

Grajeda-Varela was charged by indictment on August 2, 2023, and superseding information on July 15, 2024. He pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. In his plea agreement, Grajeda-Varela admitted to selling approximately 1.5 pounds of fentanyl in July 2023 to a drug dealer in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, according to the press release.

Federal agents discovered 109 grams of fentanyl, over six pounds of mannitol, cocaine base, cocaine, and heroin during a search of Grajeda-Varela's Oakland residence. They also found a kilogram press, cutting boards, and tools used for drug distribution, which Grajeda-Varela admitted to using.

Court documents revealed multiple WhatsApp messages on Grajeda-Varela’s phone containing international wire transfer receipts from America Latina, a money service business in Oakland. Between March and August 2022, Grajeda-Varela agreed with an individual he suspected was involved in the drug trade to launder money by bringing over $235,000 in cash to America Latina for wire transfers to Mexico and Honduras. Each transfer was structured below $3,000 to avoid federal reporting requirements.

Grajeda-Varela exchanged messages with a woman named “Griselda,” who accepted the cash and conducted the wire transfers. Receipts were found on both Grajeda-Varela’s and Griselda Cancelada Liceaga’s phones. Liceaga, 45, of Oakland, owned America Latina and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge Jeffrey S. White for money laundering conspiracy.

Liceaga was charged on August 30, 2022, and pleaded guilty on May 28, 2024. Her plea agreement stated that she sent multiple international wire receipts via WhatsApp to an individual arrested for drug trafficking and used unrelated persons' names to evade the $3,000 transaction reporting requirement. Liceaga was aware of the requirement due to anti-money laundering training from national wire service companies.