Homeland Security Task Force Arrests Owner of Southwest Detroit Business, “La Posada,” on Charges of International Money Laundering Conspiracy

DETROIT - Juan Romo-Padilla, 58, owner of La Posada - a Mexican restaurant, convenience store, and money remitter business located in Southwest, Detroit - was arrested on September 3, 2026, following a joint investigation by DEA-Detroit and IRS-CI, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. Romo-Padilla faces federal charges for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, international money laundering, laundering of represented drug proceeds, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Field Division, and Todd Strom, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation.

According to the federal criminal complaint, agents from DEA and IRS-CI have been investigating Romo-Padilla since September 2024 for illegally sending structured cash transfers of drug proceeds to Mexico through La Posada. Between 2022 and 2026, Romo-Padilla conducted over 100,000 wire transfers totaling over $140 million to Mexico. Nearly all of the funds were sent to Mexican states associated with major drug cartels, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), La Familia Michoacana, and the Sinaloa Cartel.

"To fight the Mexican cartels, we have to stop the flow of drug money back to Mexico," said Gorgon.

"Money laundering is not a victimless crime, it is the financial engine that allows drug traffickers to turn illicit profits into the resources that fuel addiction, violence, and death in cities across America," said Special Agent in Charge Dixon. "We will follow the money, expose the networks behind these operations, and dismantle the financial infrastructure that allows them to thrive. We are moving with a renewed sense of urgency and will not stop until these criminal networks are destroyed."

"The arrest of Juan Romo-Padilla for his role in transmitting funds from illegal drug transactions in and out of the United States is a victory for the American public and a defeat to drug traffickers everywhere. The special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation continue in their mission to disrupt the flow of ill-gotten gains that is the lifeblood for these criminals," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Todd Strom, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. "We will continue to be relentless in our mission to dismantle these drug trafficking organizations and bring the criminals who run them to justice."

If convicted of these money laundering offenses, Romo-Padilla faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.

This prosecution 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 Detroit comprises agents and officers from numerous agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

This case is being investigated by the DEA and IRS-Criminal Investigations with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Caitlin Casey and Rajesh Prasad.