A music promoter who agreed to launder $100,000 that he believed were drug proceeds was sentenced Monday in San Diego federal court to 18 months in prison.
Hugo Lever pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for accepting cash from a person he believed was a drug trafficker, but was actually an undercover federal agent, according to prosecutors.
A criminal complaint filed last year stated a confidential informant told law enforcement officials that Lever was seeking investors to fund a music festival in Ensenada and had been “laundering drug proceeds domestically and internationally using concert and event promotion companies.”
Lever, described in the complaint as the CEO of Calexico-based DA Music Entertainment, met with the undercover agent in May of 2019 at a restaurant in Del Mar.
The undercover agent described themselves as a narcotics trafficker and specified that the money Lever would receive came from drug sales, according to the complaint, which stated Lever said “he was no one to judge” and explained to the agent how he used DA Music Entertainment to launder money.
About two months later, Lever met with another undercover agent in El Cajon and received $100,000 in cash. His plea agreement stated that he wired just over $85,000 to a bank account provided by the agent and kept just over $14,000 as a “laundering fee/commission.”
Lever’s co-defendant and business partner, Juan Gonzalez-Fonseca, also attended the meetings with the undercover agent. He also pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week to credit for time served for just under 450 days spent in jail.