A Puerto Rican businessman has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he conspired to launder the proceeds of cocaine trafficking, federal prosecutors in San Juan announced on Friday. Raymar Lucena-Rivera, who owned RV Trucking and other corporations in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, laundered the money in 2010 and 2011, court documents state. Lucena-Rivera, who in April 2010 unknowingly hired a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant to help launder drug money, participated in the delivery of nearly $8 million in dirty cash to associates in the Dominican Republic and Panama as payment for illegal drugs, his plea agreement states. Lucena-Rivera also directed that drug money be used to buy bank checks that were used to purchase real estate and acquire a luxury yacht. In February he pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge pursuant to Title 18, US Code, Section 1956(h). Authorities seized over $2.8 million from
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