Federal jury in Chicago convicts man of laundering money for Mexico-based drug trafficking organization

Date: Dec. 19, 2025
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
CHICAGO — A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a man of laundering illicit cash proceeds from a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization.
David Berger of Chicago was found guilty of all three counts against him, including two counts of money laundering and one count of illegally structuring financial transactions.  The jury returned its verdicts on Monday after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The convictions are punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso set sentencing for May 12, 2026.
Evidence at trial revealed that from 2018 to 2021, the Mexico-based drug trafficking organization transported cocaine in wholesale quantities from Mexico to sell in various U.S. cities, including Chicago.  Members of the organization then transported millions of dollars in drug proceeds to the U.S. border and into Mexico.  One of the ways they transported the money was on privately chartered jets, which were booked and paid for on their behalf by intermediaries, including Berger.
Berger received more than $300,000 in cash drug proceeds from the organization to pay for the bookings and cover his fee.  Berger deposited the proceeds in automated teller machines in ways that were intended to avoid federal currency-reporting requirements.
The conviction was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Adam Jobes, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago, Shane R. Catone, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago.  Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Erskine and Hanna Helwig.
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.