Wyoming, Colorado Restaurants Accused of Money Laundering
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say fast-food restaurants in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado are laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug trafficking proceeds.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports one of the restaurants named in federal court documents is Rodolfo's Mexican Grill in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The owner of the restaurant, Hilario Montejano-Aleman, says his bank accounts have not been used in drug money laundering.
Montejano-Aleman also operates Viva El Taco, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. One of his bank accounts associated with the Colorado restaurant also was frozen by authorities and he likewise denied that account's use in drug money laundering.
Prosecutors filed forfeiture paperwork under seal in November, naming 13 defendants. Because the prosecutors' complaint is sealed, specific allegations are not directly visible to the public.
Among businesses implicated in the case are a Greeley, Colorado, restaurant, and at least five more Colorado Springs restaurants.