BOSTON – A Revere man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds for drug suppliers based in Central and/or South America and possessing over 17 kilograms of various controlled substances.
Jason Hunter, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, 500 grams or more of cocaine and other controlled substances; and one count of money laundering conspiracy. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2025.
According to court documents, law enforcement received information from a confidential source about large-scale international money laundering organizations that used money brokers in Colombia as liaisons between drug suppliers based in Central and/or South America and their drug customers in the United States. The money brokers arrange contracts with U.S.-based money launderers to conduct pickups of drug proceeds on behalf of the drug suppliers in Latin America. As part of the investigation, law enforcement agents – posing as money launderers – conducted controlled pickups in connection with contracts offered by the money brokers in cities throughout the United States, including Boston.
Over the course of the investigation, Hunter delivered drug proceeds to undercover investigators on multiple occasions, including on Feb. 28, 2024, when he delivered $140,000 of bulk cash drug proceeds. On April 3, 2024 Hunter was arrested on his way to a money pickup that had been arranged by a broker. At the time of his arrest $100,000 in drug proceeds was seized from Hunter’s possession. A subsequent search of his residence and vehicle resulted in the seizure of over 16 kilograms of counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, additional pills containing oxycodone, as well as over a kilogram of cocaine and multiple kilograms of marijuana.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of substance containing methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of substance containing methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of laundered funds, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
