MIAMI — A trucking company owner charged with playing a supporting role in a gold-smuggling scheme spanning South America, the Caribbean and South Florida pleaded guilty this week to submitting false customs documents that concealed the true origins of the gold being imported through Miami International Airport.
Jesus Gabriel Rodriguez Jr., CEO of the Doral-based armored truck company Transvalue Inc., admitted as part of his plea agreement that he helped import thousands of kilos of gold valued at $140 million into the United States from Curacao, knowing that that the customs paperwork falsely represented its origins. The records falsely showed the gold was shipped from the Cayman Islands to make it look like it didn’t come from Curacao, which is known as an illicit trading hub for gold mined in South America, including nearby Venezuela. Disclosing that the gold was actually shipped through Curacao would have violated U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
By pleading guilty to the false statement charge, Rodriguez now faces up to two years in prison instead of 20 years under a previous money laundering conspiracy charge. But Rodriguez, 45, may receive less time at his sentencing April 4 before U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayle because he accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate with authorities, according to the terms of his deal struck between defense attorney Michael R. Band and prosecutor Walter Norkin.
