United States v. Calzadias

In United States v. Calzadias, No. 23-40376 (5th Cir. Dec. 30, 2024) (unpublished), the Fifth Circuit vacated the defendant’s guilty-plea conviction for international money laundering because his factual basis contained insufficient facts to support the conviction.

Background: Rather than proceed to trial, Calzadias pled guilty to two charges. As relevant here, one of those charges was for conspiracy to commit international money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B)(i), & (h). At his plea hearing, Calzadias admitted that he transported cash that came from drug sales, which assisted others in the distribution of illegal drugs. He also admitted that he and others agreed “to conduct financial transactions affecting interstate commerce which involved the proceeds of specified unlawful activity.”

Issue: Was that a sufficient factual basis to support Calzadias’ conviction for conspiring to commit international money laundering?

Held: No, the factual basis failed to establish a necessary element—transportation of funds between the United States and another country.

Key Reasoning: “Neither the indictment nor the factual basis contained any factual allegations that Calzadias conspired to transport funds internationally. Rather, both documents merely cite the international money laundering statute and/or ‘track’ the statutory language. This is insufficient.”