Date: June 10, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
BOSTON — A Lawrence man pleaded guilty today to his involvement in money laundering and cocaine conspiracies.
Victor Berroa Mercedes pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine; and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Sept. 23, 2025.
In January 2024, in Lowell, Berroa Mercedes delivered approximately $70,000 in drug trafficking proceeds for money laundering concealed in a shopping bag to undercover law enforcement. During the exchange, Berroa Mercedes called a co-conspirator to confirm the amount of drug trafficking proceeds he was delivering for money laundering was indeed $70,000.
A few months later, in May 2024, Berroa Mercedes met with a cooperating source in Woburn to obtain 32 kilograms of cocaine. When law enforcement attempted to arrest Berroa Mercedes during the exchange, he fled and dropped a plastic bag containing $32,800 in cash. He was immediately apprehended.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Boston; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Waltham, Bedford, Middleborough, Framingham, Lowell, Braintree, Haverhill and Wilmington Police Departments and the Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Ferguson, J. Mackenzie Duane and John Mulcahy of the Criminal Division are prosecuting 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.