Witness Gets 5 Years in Money Laundering Case
A man who pleaded guilty in a drug money laundering scheme based in the downtown Los Angeles jewelry district was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.
U.S. District Judge William D. Keller sentenced Carlos Desoretz, 43, who had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money. Desoretz testified for the prosecution against other defendants.
Keller last month sentenced brothers Nazareth and Vahe Andonian, and Raul Vivas, to 505 years each in prison. Another man received a 27-year term. Prosecutors said the men laundered drug money by purchasing gold from downtown Los Angeles jewelry firms, selling it to a Hollywood, Fla., gold refining company, which resold it and wired money to banks in South America.
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