Flight Attendants Charged With Smuggling Drug Money Into Dominican Republic Following HSI New York Investigation

NEW YORK — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York investigation, in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the New York Police Department, has resulted in the arrests of four flight attendants in connection with their yearslong participation in smuggling narcotics trafficking proceeds from the United States to the Dominican Republic on commercial flights.

Complaints unsealed May 7 charged Charlie Hernandez, 42, of West New York, New Jersey; Sarah Valerio Pujols, 42, of the Bronx; Emmanuel Torres, 34, of Brooklyn; and Jarol Fabio, 35, of New York, with various offenses for allegedly smuggling drug money to the Dominican Republic. All the defendants were arrested May 7.

“As alleged, the defendants knowingly smuggled large amounts of illicit money linked to the sale of narcotics, to include fentanyl, and took advantage of airport security checkpoints by using their trusted positions as flight attendants. This investigation has exposed critical vulnerabilities in the airline security industry and has illuminated methods that narcotics traffickers are utilizing,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “Today’s announcement should serve as a warning to all airline personnel: HSI New York will not tolerate employees’ attempts to abuse their power for the sake of transporting illicit goods. I commend El Dorado Task Force’s Transnational Criminal Enterprise Investigations Group and our partners in the public and private sectors for recognizing the seriousness of this issue.”

Arvelo praised the investigative work of HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force Transnational Criminal Enterprise Investigations Group, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the New York Police Department.

“As alleged, these flight attendants smuggled millions of dollars of drug money and law enforcement funds that they thought was drug money from the United States to the Dominican Republic over many years by abusing their privileges as airline employees,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Today’s charges should serve as a reminder to those who break the law by helping drug traffickers move their money that crime doesn’t pay.”

According to the investigation, during the relevant period charged in each of the complaints, all the defendants were employed as flight attendants with different international airlines that operated routes between New York City and the Dominican Republic. All the defendants had “known crewmember” status with the Transportation Security Administration, which allowed them to pass through a special security lane at John F. Kennedy International Airport and other airports under less scrutiny than normal passengers receive. In total, the charged defendants smuggled approximately $8 million in bulk cash from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

In or around October 2021, investigators learned of the existence of a significant money laundering organization in New York City, specializing in the movement of cash proceeds from narcotics sales from New York City to the Dominican Republic. Through investigative means, co-conspirators were found to be corrupting flight attendants, like the defendants, who worked routes between New York City and the Dominican Republic. In exchange for a fee — which generally amounted to a small percentage of the amount of money that they would be smuggling — the defendants accepted bulk cash from co-conspirators in New York City, got it past airport security via the known crewmember lane, and passed it off to other members of the money laundering organization in the Dominican Republic. After obtaining investigative intelligence, HSI orchestrated a number of sting operations in which co-conspirators provided law enforcement funds represented to be narcotics proceeds to the defendants, who then smuggled it down to the Dominican Republic and handed it off.

Each defendant is charged with one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmission business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of entering an airport or aircraft area in violation of security requirements, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Pujols and Hernandez are also charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and Pujols is further charged with one count of bulk cash smuggling, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

HSI New York leads and directs all operational and administrative activities of the El Dorado Task Force (EDTF). The EDTF is the premier money laundering task force in the nation and comprises more than 200 law enforcement personnel representing approximately 35 federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The EDTF encompasses a standalone Cyber Division as part of an effort to stay abreast of emerging criminal threats and in keeping with current and future investigative priorities. The mission of the EDTF is to disrupt, dismantle or render ineffective organizations involved in the laundering of proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other financial crimes. Since its inception in 1992, the task force has been responsible for the seizure of approximately $600 million and more than 2,100 arrests.