MIAMI, FL – October 17, 2026 (STL.News) A Brazilian national, Ygor Fokin Saviolli, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for helping manage an international money laundering operation that concealed more than $30 million in illicit proceeds, including money generated through drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ygor Fokin Saviolli, 35, received the 144-month sentence on October 16, becoming the sixth defendant sentenced in a federal prosecution involving an extensive network of cash couriers, financial facilitators and international transactions.
Federal prosecutors said the organization operated across multiple states and countries, using individuals to collect large amounts of cash generated from illegal drug sales before depositing the money into financial institutions throughout the United States.
The operation was designed to conceal the source of the proceeds and return profits to criminal suppliers, including drug trafficking sources operating outside the United States.
Saviolli’s sentencing concludes the announced sentencing proceedings for six defendants who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
International Money Laundering Network Moved Millions
According to federal court documents summarized by the Justice Department, the criminal organization relied on an extensive network of individuals who coordinated cash pickups and bank deposits in cities throughout the country.
The scheme involved collecting bulk cash proceeds from illegal drug transactions and moving those funds through the banking system to conceal their criminal origins.
Rather than transporting every payment directly across international borders, the organization used U.S.-based couriers who received cash and deposited it into financial institutions.
The deposits were part of a broader effort to return the proceeds to individuals involved in supplying illegal drugs, including sources outside the United States.
Federal authorities identified more than $30 million in cash concealed through the conspiracy.
The operation extended beyond Florida, with couriers picking up cash in several major American cities.
Federal prosecutors identified locations including Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Rochester, New York; and Tampa, Florida.
Investigators also determined that members of the organization used WhatsApp messaging groups to coordinate money movement.
These communications connected facilitators who organized transactions with couriers who collected and deposited cash.
Electronic messaging let members coordinate numerous pickups across locations.
Saviolli Played Managerial and Supervisory Role
Federal prosecutors identified Saviolli as a manager and supervisor in the money-laundering organization.
His responsibilities went beyond handling cash personally.
According to the Justice Department, Saviolli provided upfront funding that helped support the organization’s activities and supervised the receipt and laundering of bulk cash proceeds.
His role placed him among the individuals responsible for facilitating the organization’s financial operations.
Another defendant, Gabriel Cezar Menezes, 29, also served as a facilitator.
Menezes instructed couriers, supervised their activities, and personally collected large amounts of cash on multiple occasions.
The remaining four defendants primarily served as couriers who collected illicit proceeds in cities across the United States.
Their work allowed the organization to receive cash from geographically dispersed locations and move it into the financial system.
The federal prosecution illustrates how money laundering operations can depend on different levels of participation, from those coordinating transactions to individuals physically transporting cash.
All Six Defendants Receive Federal Prison Sentences
Saviolli received the longest prison sentence among the six defendants.
The court sentenced the other five individuals on September 24, 2026.
Their sentences were:
- Ygor Fokin Saviolli, 35: 144 months, or 12 years, sentenced on October 16.
- Gabriel Cezar Menezes, 29: 94 months, approximately seven years and 10 months.
- Omar Aliperti De Mello Correa, 34: 30 months, or two years and six months.
- Leandro De Avila Goncalves, 43: 24 months, or two years.
- Joao Andrade De Mello, 29: 12 months and one day.
- Tadeu Sebastiane Rabelo Alves Barbosa, 30: 12 months and one day.
The Justice Department identified Correa as a U.S. citizen and the other five defendants as Brazilian nationals.
Federal officials also reported that the Brazilian nationals were unlawfully residing in the United States when they were arrested.
All six defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. The district court accepted their guilty pleas in June 2026.
The sentences reflect the different penalties imposed on defendants who participated in the same criminal conspiracy.
The Justice Department identified Saviolli and Menezes as individuals with supervisory or facilitating responsibilities, while the other four defendants worked as cash couriers.
Federal Investigation Uncovered Multistate Operation
The federal case developed through an investigation involving several law enforcement agencies.
The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rochester Resident Office and Homeland Security Investigations offices in Miami and Brasília, Brazil.
The involvement of domestic and international investigative offices reflected the money laundering network’s geographic reach.
Federal authorities investigated how the organization collected illegal proceeds, coordinated couriers, and used financial institutions to move the money.
Attorneys from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida handled the prosecution.
Trial Attorneys James Hepburn and Jessee Alexander-Hoeppner of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section participated in the prosecution alongside Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero.
The Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case, although the criminal activities extended into numerous other jurisdictions.
The original federal case was filed under case number 25-cr-20545.
Why Money Laundering Matters to Drug Trafficking
Money laundering is a critical financial component of many large-scale criminal enterprises.
Drug trafficking organizations frequently generate substantial amounts of cash through illegal sales. However, these proceeds create significant challenges for criminals trying to use, transfer, or conceal their profits.
Money laundering schemes seek to disguise the criminal origins of those funds.
In this case, federal prosecutors described an operation that collected cash in different cities and deposited it into financial institutions.
The organization sought to conceal the funds and return profits to drug suppliers, including individuals operating internationally.
It is important to distinguish drug trafficking from money laundering.
Drug trafficking involves the illegal production, distribution, or sale of controlled substances. Money laundering involves financial transactions intended to conceal or disguise proceeds connected to unlawful activity.
Individuals can therefore face money laundering charges for handling criminal proceeds, even when their principal responsibilities involve financial coordination rather than directly selling drugs.
The six defendants in this prosecution pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Their convictions should not be confused with separate convictions for drug distribution offenses.
Federal Authorities Target Criminal Financial Networks
The Justice Department has emphasized the importance of targeting financial networks that enable international criminal organizations to operate.
Large criminal enterprises depend on more than individuals directly involved in illegal transactions.
They may also rely on couriers, financial intermediaries, coordinators, and managers who help move profits through domestic and international channels.
By pursuing money-laundering conspiracies, federal investigators can target the financial infrastructure that supports broader criminal activity.
The Justice Department’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section handles cases involving criminal financial facilitators, international money laundering networks, and the recovery of proceeds connected to illegal activity.
Its work includes prosecutions involving transnational organized crime, drug trafficking organizations, and financial transactions that affect the American banking system.
The Saviolli prosecution demonstrates how investigators can pursue participants across multiple levels of a criminal financial operation.
The organization used couriers to collect cash, facilitators to coordinate transactions, and managers to oversee the movement of illicit proceeds.
Federal prosecutors ultimately secured guilty pleas from all six defendants.
Electronic Communications Helped Coordinate Cash Pickups
One notable feature of the investigation was the organization’s use of WhatsApp messaging chains.
According to the Justice Department, dozens of cash pickups were coordinated through electronic conversations involving couriers and facilitators.
Such communications let individuals in different locations coordinate transactions without meeting in person.
In this case, the messaging system connected individuals who arranged cash collections with those who carried out the pickups.
The Justice Department has not publicly detailed every message or transaction associated with the conspiracy in its sentencing announcement.
Nevertheless, the described use of messaging groups provides insight into how the organization managed cash collections across multiple cities.
The operation combined physical movement of currency with electronic coordination and financial deposits.
That combination let the conspiracy operate across a wide geographic area while relying on individuals with specific responsibilities.
Sentencing Marks Final Stage for Six Defendants
The October 16 sentencing of Saviolli followed several important developments in the federal prosecution.
Earlier in 2026, federal authorities announced charges against individuals accused of participating in the laundering conspiracy.
The case then advanced through guilty pleas, which the district court accepted in June.
In September, five defendants received prison sentences.
Saviolli’s October sentencing completed the announced sentencing proceedings involving all six defendants.
The Justice Department has not identified additional defendants awaiting sentencing in its October 16 announcement.
Although the announced sentences mark a significant stage in the criminal case, the public release does not confirm whether all potential forfeiture, restitution, immigration, or other related proceedings are complete.
The distinction is important because criminal sentencing and related financial recovery proceedings can involve separate legal determinations.
For Saviolli, the immediate outcome is a 12-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty.
The other five defendants face prison terms ranging from 12 months and one day to 94 months.
The prosecution highlights the federal government’s continued use of financial investigations to identify and prosecute individuals who help criminal organizations collect, conceal, and move illegal profits through the United States.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, October 16, 2026; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, October 16 sentencing announcement; earlier Justice Department releases documenting the federal charges and guilty pleas. Federal case reference: United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, case No. 25-cr-20545.
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