Federal court sentenced Clayton woman for laundering millions for cartels and moving kilo quantities of narcotics

Date: August 25, 2025

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

WILMINGTON, N.C. – On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced a Clayton woman to 11 years in federal prison for money laundering and trafficking large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine. Oralia Rodriguez-Flores pleaded guilty at the end of last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and to distributing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

“Let this case stand as a warning to those willing to help Cartels poison our communities. We will target your drugs, your finances, and your profits and seize them. Then we will ensure you spend decades in prison. Cartel crime will not pay in Eastern North Carolina,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Rodriguez-Flores thought she could hide behind money laundering schemes and drug trafficking networks, but she thought wrong.”

“This outcome is the result of dedicated work by law enforcement at every level,” said Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “The DEA remains committed to pursuing those who choose to traffic dangerous drugs and profit off of other’s addiction.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, from June 2021 to June 2024, Rodriguez-Flores distributed large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine that had been shipped from Mexico and laundered the proceeds from the sale of these drugs back to Mexico.

In January 2023, agents learned that Rodriguez-Flores was supplying kilogram quantities of cocaine to a drug trafficking organization (DTO) based in South Carolina. On January 16, 2023, Rodriguez-Flores delivered 4 kilograms of cocaine to the DTO. On January 5, 2024, Rodriguez-Flores sold 891.2 grams of 97% pure methamphetamine.

Approximately two weeks later, Rodriguez-Flores traveled to Kentucky to pick up drug proceeds when agents seized $39,391 in U.S. currency from Rodriguez-Flores as she returned to Raleigh. On February 2, 2024, agents seized 40 kilograms of cocaine from her semi-trailer truck in Kentucky.

Rodriguez-Flores admitted to being involved with drug trafficking for approximately three years and explained her scheme to agents. She distributed drugs to customers in the Carolinas that originated in Mexico. Rodriguez-Flores was also responsible for laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds to Mexico.

Rodriguez-Flores’ prosecution results from an investigation by the Eastern District of North Carolina’s Illicit Finance Task Force (IFTF) and from an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. Created in 2024 in partnership with the Treasury Executive Office of Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF), the IFTF is an interagency anti-money laundering task force comprised of prosecutors and agents. The IFTF is dedicated to combatting money laundering activities affecting the Eastern District of North Carolina through strategic use of criminal and civil laws.

Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan and Charles Loeser prosecuted the case.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.