The Sconi

Angelica Mendoza Rubio, a 49-year-old certified accountant from Mexico, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for her role in an international money laundering scheme. The sentencing took place before U.S. District Judge Williams M. Conley in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mendoza Rubio pleaded guilty on May 9, 2025, to conspiring to commit concealment money laundering. According to court records, she operated from Mexico between December 2020 and April 2021, using a network of money launderers based in the United States. The operation involved converting bulk cash into Bitcoin and utilized shell companies, nominee account holders, funnel accounts, and layered financial transactions to hide the origin and ownership of the funds.

In December 2020 alone, Mendoza Rubio and others laundered about $240,000 in proceeds from a wire fraud scheme that targeted a business located in the Western District of Wisconsin. Over the five months of the conspiracy, Judge Conley determined that she assisted in laundering approximately $5.1 million derived from criminal activity.

Judge Conley highlighted Mendoza Rubio’s expertise as an accountant and described her role as invaluable due to the sophisticated nature of the scheme when imposing the sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma commented on law enforcement’s efforts: “Sophisticated money launderers like Mendoza Rubio help facilitate international criminal activity. I commend the law enforcement agents who worked to bring her to justice.”

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith P. Duchemin and Louis Glinzak prosecuted the case.