Senior Executive Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Leading a Money Laundering Operation for Transnational Criminal Organizations

Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, a resident of Miami, Florida and a citizen of France and Colombia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in federal court in Brooklyn to 12 years in prison for his role in a sprawling money laundering and fraud operation. The defendant was convicted by a federal jury in December 2025 of conspiracies to commit money laundering, bank fraud, and unlicensed money transmitting in connection with his scheme to launder more than $300 million, including for persons affiliated with cartels and other transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, such as the Sinaloa Cartel. The Court also imposed a $330 million forfeiture money judgment against Bibliowicz.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the sentence.

"As punishment for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for drug cartels and drug traffickers, a crime that shocks the conscience, the defendant will deservedly spend a significant portion of the rest of his life in prison," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "This prosecution is an example of how the Office is meeting the Administration's goal of totally eliminating drug cartels and drug trafficking organizations by targeting and stopping their cash money lifeblood."

Mr. Nocella thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, for their assistance.

"Today's sentence strikes at the heart of a criminal enterprise that funneled hundreds of millions of illicit funds into the hands of drug cartels and traffickers," stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso. "Money laundering operations, such as Bibliowicz's, are the lifeblood of transnational criminal organizations, enabling them to expand their reach and inflict harm across borders. This case underscores the effectiveness of our investigative efforts and the resolve of law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks at every level. Together with our partners, HSI New York is committed to tracking illicit financial flows, exposing those who profit from crime, and ensuring they face justice."

"Individuals like Bibliowicz Mitrani, who willingly launder money, enable billion-dollar criminal enterprises to operate in the shadows. He moved millions in illicit cash for criminal organizations and cartels, hiding his conduct behind a sham technology company. His laundering fees funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury travel, high-end jewelry, and a multimillion-dollar home. With today's sentence, that life of luxury is over-and the only thing he'll be laundering now are his clothes," stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis

As proven at trial, from approximately 2020 to 2024, the defendant led a scheme to launder more than $300 million, much of which represented drug proceeds belonging to drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal organizations. The defendant was a co-owner and chief executive of a company called Treebu, which purported to be a legitimate technology business. In reality, Treebu's public-facing operations were a cover for an elaborate multi-million-dollar money laundering enterprise based in Florida and Colombia.

Cartels and other transnational criminal organizations that engage in drug trafficking operate vast criminal enterprises that generate significant revenue globally by trafficking illicit narcotics. Because these organizations generate billions of dollars in illicit revenue annually from trafficked narcotics, they must find ways to repatriate these proceeds back to their home countries to fund their ongoing enterprises. In many cases, drug trafficking organizations rely on separate money laundering operations, such as Treebu, to repatriate their funds. In exchange, money laundering organizations and their associates, like the defendant, earn a significant commission for taking on the risk of laundering illicit proceeds for these criminal organizations.

The defendant established shell companies that were used to open bank accounts used to transmit the illegal proceeds to obscure the source of the funds. To protect the scheme from detection, the defendant lied to U.S. financial institutions about the purpose and activities of these companies, and he failed to register as a money transmitting business as required under state and federal law. In total, financial records show that the defendant and his organization laundered more than $300 million.

The defendant used his profits from this scheme for personal expenses and to fund his lavish lifestyle, including to purchase expensive jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, make payments towards his approximately $4 million Miami mansion, and fund luxury travel, including more than $16,000 on luxury hotel stays abroad in April 2023.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The government's case is being handled by the Office's International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Amir, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Zoubida Bicane.

The Defendant:

ALAIN BIBLIOWICZ MITRANI
Age: 51
Miami, Florida

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-39 (CBA)