Defendants Receive Lengthy Prison Sentences andForfeit More than $100 Million in Cash and Property
FORT WORTH, Texas — The last defendant in a major drug trafficking organization (DTO), the David Duran DTO, which operated in the Dallas/Fort Worth area from 2002 until the case was indicted in 2006, was sentenced Monday March 23, 2009, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.
U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means sentenced Universal Lime, Inc., a corporation that was set up by several of the Duran DTO defendants to launder it drug proceeds, was sentenced to 2 years probation and ordered to forfeit $2,843,157.
David Ray Duran became involved in the sale and distribution of controlled substances as early as 1992. After his release on parole on May 30, 2001, he again began dealing in drugs. Over the course of the next year, he organized a DTO that transported marijuana from El Paso to locations across the U.S. for distribution. It is reliably estimated that this DTO, at its peak, trafficked, on average, 10 tons of marijuana each month. The total gross proceeds of the drug trafficking enterprise are estimated at $100 million.
Members of the DTO included Julia Ann Duran, Stacy Lee Choate, Kimberly Jean Choate, Frank Bradley Segars, Universal Lime, Inc., Jose L. Silva, Juan Gonzales Rios, Jr., Aida Quirino Rios, J&I Premier Transport, Inc., Alberto Flores, Alfredo Munoz, Yhara Angelica Aguero, Timothy Edward Galaviz, Robert Galaviz, Rodolfo Flores, Tchong Hughes, Edward Glen Leitch, Michael Pruitt, Daniel Sanchez, Scott Everett Brewer, Marcus Jenkins, Christina Duran Kerr Delarosa, Antonio Moreno Avila, Rene Almager, and Ralph Paniagua, among others.
- In total, 28 defendants were indicted, including two corporations.
- Twenty-six have been convicted, one of the corporations was dismissed as it would not survive the incarceration of its two principal shareholders; the other defendant is a fugitive.
- Twenty-five defendants have been sentenced, one is a fugitive, and the average sentence is approximately 10 years in federal prison.
- Lead defendant David Duran was sentenced to 17 ½ years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $100 million.
More than $3 million in cash and property has been seized and forfeited. During the course of the investigation the participating agencies seized and forfeited over $794,000 in cash and more than $600,000 worth of vehicles, jewelry, real estate, and other personal property.
In the forfeiture part of the case, the assets of Universal Lime, Inc. were sold to a legitimate company. The sale was on a “going concern” basis, not just piecemeal at auction. That sale netted $1.6 million to the government, another $300,000 is in escrow for two years.
In January 2002, Duran and Juan Rios incorporated JD Express, Inc., a commercial trucking business which was used to transport loads of marijuana.
The following January, Duran incorporated another commercial trucking business, JDA Trucking, Inc., which also was used to transport loads of marijuana.
Profits from the marijuana trafficking business were deposited into these businesses accounts and Duran also used drug profits to purchase assets for JDA Trucking, Inc.
In November 2003, Duran incorporated Universal Lime, Inc., with the initial investors/shareholders Duran (holding 78% of the shares), Frank Bradley Segars (11%) and Jose Silva (11%).
The assets of JDA Trucking, Inc., were transferred to Universal Lime, which was used as a recipient of the drug trafficking profits and premises it used were used as drug transshipment points.
Segars and Duran used cash drug profits to purchase tanks and equipment for Universal Lime.
David Duran’s wife, Julia Ann Duran, eventually became active in Universal Lime’s operations. In 2004, $103,760 in cash was deposited into Julia Duran’s personal checking account.
That same year, more than $1.2 million in cash, almost all drug profits, was deposited into the accounts of Universal Lime and JDA Trucking.
Typically, the cash would be brought to the Duran residence, and the cash deposits were made by Julia Duran and others who worked for Universal Lime in managerial positions.
The deposits were structured to avoid the currency transaction reporting requirements.
This pattern continued until 2006. From the time of Universal Lime’s incorporation, until November 16, 2006, drug trafficking profits of at least $2,843,157, in the form of cash or property acquired with drug profits, were invested in the establishment and operation of Universal Lime to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of the marijuana trafficking proceeds.
The 18-month comprehensive investigation, which resulted in the federal indictments, was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
It was initiated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area's (HIDTA) Commercial Smuggling Group.
Information leading to the federal investigation was initially developed by the Grand Prairie Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) SAR Review Team.
Also assisting the investigation were officers and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Arlington Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Dallas County Sheriff's Office, Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, and the El Paso Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred Schattman and Diane Kozub prosecuted the case.
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