Flight attendants use security privileges to smuggle millions in drug money out of US: federal prosecutors

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Federal agents hauled a flight attendant out of New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport as they broke up an international money laundering ring that prosecutors allege smuggled $8 million in drug-related proceeds out of the U.S. by taking advantage of flight crews' easy airport access.

Charlie Hernandez, 42, Sarah Valerio Pujols, 42, Emmanuel Torres, 34, and Jarol Fabio 35, each face federal felony charges of operating an unlicensed money transmission business and violating airport security requirements.

Hernandez is accused of smuggling at least $2.5 million between 2014 and 2019, according to court documents. In that same span, Pujols allegedly transported at least $1.5 million on flights to the Dominican Republic. Both Torres and Fabio are accused of smuggling more than $1.5 million apiece between 2015 and last year and face up to 15 years in prison.

Hernandez also faces conspiracy charges, bringing his maximum prison sentence to 20 years. Pujols faces the same conspiracy charge and an additional count of bulk cash smuggling, increasing her maximum possible penalty to 25 years behind bars if convicted. She had been fired by her employer, an unspecified international airline, in 2019. Customs and Border Protection agents allegedly found $60,000 in undeclared cash in her purse during a check on Dec. 20 of that year, according to the complaint.

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