A Florida resident has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for his involvement in money laundering and fentanyl distribution. Wuesley Pelaez Vela, 34, of Tallahassee, received a nine-year prison sentence followed by five years of supervised release. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young.
Pelaez Vela pleaded guilty in May 2025 to charges including conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of fentanyl. He was indicted alongside five alleged co-conspirators by a federal grand jury in July 2022.
Authorities began investigating a Colombia-based money laundering operation in 2019 that handled drug proceeds for several trafficking groups. Between 2020 and 2022, Pelaez Vela coordinated with an undercover agent on multiple occasions to collect cash intended for Mexican drug suppliers as part of the laundering scheme. In total, he organized 13 pickups amounting to over $1.1 million.
In October 2021, Pelaez Vela directed an undercover agent to buy fentanyl, provided photographs of the pills, and supplied a code phrase for ordering them. Two packages containing more than 600 grams of fentanyl were seized during this transaction.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today,” according to the press release. “Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.”
The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created under Executive Order 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion. This interagency partnership targets criminal cartels and transnational organizations operating within and outside U.S borders, focusing especially on crimes involving children and violent offenders.
The HSTF Boston includes agents from various federal agencies such as HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS along with state and local law enforcement partners; prosecutions are led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.