(Image Credit: IMAGN)
Los Angeles, California – A top executive at a Downtown Los Angeles shipping company was arrested this week in connection with a sprawling international smuggling and money laundering scheme that prosecutors say involved bribing Mexican officials, defrauding customs agencies, and paying kickbacks to one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels.
Ralph Olarte, 55, of Glendale, the chief financial officer of Sport LA Inc., was taken into custody late Tuesday night at Los Angeles International Airport. He is expected to be arraigned in federal court in downtown L.A. this afternoon.
Olarte and Humberto Lopez Belmonte, 53, the Mexico City-based CEO of the company, are at the center of a 22-count indictment unsealed Tuesday. Authorities arrested Lopez in Los Angeles, he plead not guilty and a judge released him on a $100,000 bond. A trial date has been set for July 21.
According to federal prosecutors, the two executives used shell companies, bribes, and falsified documents to smuggle billions of dollars’ worth of goods from the U.S. into Mexico, while systematically dodging customs duties and lying to authorities on both sides of the border.
“This wasn’t just a case of tax evasion or trade fraud—it’s a multi-year, multinational conspiracy that exploited loopholes, corrupted officials, and enriched organized crime,” said a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment accuses Olarte and Lopez of repeatedly submitting false export documents to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, concealing the nature and value of the goods being shipped, and falsifying certificates showing Mexican import taxes had been paid—when they hadn’t. Their alleged crimes stretch back at least to 2013.
In some cases, goods concealed within the shipments reportedly included contraband. Authorities have also accused the defendants of paying off corrupt Mexican customs officials and funneling kicbacks to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to keep their operation running smoothly.
To launder the proceeds, prosecutors say the men used shell companies in Mexico to conceal payments from their actual customers, eventually routing the funds into U.S.-based bank accounts. The personal payoff? Millions of dollars in illicit gains, according to the Justice Department.
In addition to Olarte and Lopez, several affiliated companies—Sport LA Inc., H&R Logistics Inc., and Olarte Transport Service Inc.—face related charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements to government agencies.
If convicted, the defendants face significant prison time: up to 20 years per count for the most serious financial crimes.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case, along with the IRS, the DEA, and other federal partners, as part of the El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, which targets complex financial crimes in Southern California.
