SHERMAN, Texas - An illegal alien has been sentenced to federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Jose Guadalupe Lopez-Arana, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and aiding and abetting and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant on August 27, 2026.

According to information presented in court, in 2023, Lopez-Arana, a Mexican national illegally living in Irving, was identified during an investigation into activities associated with a drug trafficking conspiracy responsible for distributing methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl. Lopez-Arana was specifically responsible for receiving and delivering proceeds from the drug trafficking organization to conceal the illegal activity. Lopez-Arana laundered between $150,000 and $250,000 in U.S. currency.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Dallas Field Office; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations - Dallas (ICE-HSI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CD; United States Postal Service, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS); United States Secret Service (USSS); Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS); TEXOMA HIDTA; and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Eastern District of Texas with the prosecution being led by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Wynne.

###