High-ranking Mexican cartel leader faked own death to live 'life of luxury' in California: DOJ

LOS ANGELES - An alleged high-ranking member of a Mexican cartel who is accused of faking his own death to live a "life of luxury" in California has been arrested, according to the Department of Justice. 

The suspect, Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, 37, was arrested in Riverside on Nov. 19 for international drug trafficking and money laundering offenses, officials said. He is the son-in-law of the leader of Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho. 

According to court documents, Gutierrez-Ochoa is alleged to have started working for the CJNG, one of the most violent drug cartels in Mexico, in around 2014, and to have personally coordinated the transportation and distribution of approximately 40,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in Mexico to be distributed in the U.S. 

"As these charges allege, Gutierrez-Ochoa directed the trafficking of lethal narcotics, causing untold destruction in our communities. To those seeking to harm Americans and to profit from their pain, this arrest should serve as a reminder — we will find you and bring you to justice," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Prosecutors further allege Gutierrez-Ochoa used violence to propel CJNG's drug trafficking and money laundering activities. 

Around November 2021, Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy in an attempt to secure the release of El Mencho’s wife, who had been arrested by Mexican authorities, according to court documents.

Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly fled into the U.S., where he took on a false identity and lived in a luxury home in Riverside, bought with CJNG's money, officials said.

Gutierrez-Ochoa faces several charges including conspiracy to launder CJNG's drug trafficking proceeds. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison on the drug distribution conspiracy charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy charge.

According to court documents, El Mencho may have assisted Gutierrez-Ochoa in his scheme to fake his own death by telling associates that El Mencho murdered Gutierrez-Ochoa for lying. This helped Gutierrez-Ochoa sneak into the U.S. to be with El Mencho’s daughter. 

In April 2022, the Justice Department charged El Mencho with leading a continuing criminal enterprise to manufacture and distribute fentanyl for importation into the U.S.

El Mencho remains a fugitive. A reward of up to $10 million is being offered for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.

 "Defeating the two cartels responsible for the deadly drug crisis in the United States is the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s top operational priority, and with the arrest of Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, we are much closer," said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. "We allege that Gutierrez-Ochoa, a high-ranking member of the CJNG and the son-in-law of El Mencho, conspired to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States on behalf of the Jalisco Cartel. The Jalisco Cartel is responsible for unprecedented violence in Mexico and helping to fuel the deadly drug crisis in the United States. The DEA is relentlessly committed to defeating the Jalisco Cartel, and we will exhaust every tool in the justice system to fight back, to save American lives, and to bring this cartel to justice."