NAYZE MEDIA (STAFF)
LOCAL: BEAR, D.E.
Cover Photo Courtesy: Latin Post
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45-year old, Omar Morales Colon, and his wife, 44-year old, Shakira Martinez, both of Bear, D.E., were convicted by a federal jury of a money laundering conspiracy that spanned eight years. A report from 1st State Update said, the money the couple were accused of laundering was reportedly drug proceeds. The conviction also includes forfeiture of 13 properties the feds say were used for the couples’ money laundering activities.
The couple reportedly laundered drug proceeds by using their company, Zemi Property Management, to purchase real estate properties in Delaware and Pennsylvania, between the years of 2009-2017. They then deposited drug money into several bank accounts and asked their friends and family members to do the same thing. They then used that money to buy cashier’s checks that funded the purchase of the properties.
The couple also were reported to have laundered drug money doing upgrades to the homes they purchased, including their own home, where they paid a contractor in cash money to have an underground bunker built beneath their Bear, Delaware house.
Colon was arrested on May 6, 2017. DEA and local police took Colon into custody shortly after watching him give his cocaine supplier $382,045 in cash, in a Newark, New Jersey hotel parking lot.
“The defendant was a sophisticated drug trafficker who conspired with others, including members of the Sinaloa Cartel, to bring vast amounts of cocaine into Delaware. He and Ms. Martinez also laundered the proceeds of his drug activity through the U.S. financial system. The DEA’s investigation led to the seizure of 17 kilograms of cocaine, pounds of Marijuana, nearly $1 million in cash, and the conviction of a major drug trafficker,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss.”
Colon also had a conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms of cocaine or more, charge later added to his indictment. He was convicted on those charges in September of 2021. Colon is facing a mandatory minimum of 10-years in prison -to- a maximum life behind bars in prison sentence. Martinez is facing a maximum sentence of 20-years in prison when sentenced. No sentencing date was given in the report.
