A 40-year-old Orlando man was sentenced to over six years in federal prison after he was caught with $1 million in laundered money related to drug-trafficking.
Jason Pagan-Reyes will spend six years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Pagan-Reyes was sentenced by U.S. Middle District of Florida Judge Susan C. Bucklew on Friday, October 21.
According to court records, Pagan-Reyes was part of a conspiracy to deliver $1 million in drug proceeds to a money laundering organization that would launder the money back to the Dominican Republic.
Pagan-Reyes was in contact with an undercover officer who was posing as a courier for the criminal organization.
On July 11, 2020, Pagan-Reyes was stopped in Polk County by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper while he was driving to meet with the undercover officer.
After a police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle, law enforcement recovered $1,000,495 in two large bags. A search of Pagan-Reyes cellphone revealed communications consistent with both drug trafficking and money laundering.
Pagan-Reyes pled guilty to the charges in June 2022, and is currently serving a drug-related state prison sentence.