A federal judge granted a bond to a McAllen woman accused of playing a role in a money laundering and drug smuggling operation, court records show.
Despite the government’s objections, on Monday afternoon Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis granted a bond to Maria Estela Suprise in the case against her that stemmed from an investigation into a local beauty supply business in McAllen, according to records.
Alanis granted Suprise a $100,000 bond.
The 62-year-old woman was arrested and charged with money laundering charges, along with Yolanda Peña, in connection with a more than two-year federal investigation into South Tex Beauty Supply, a salon furniture wholesale business with several locations around the Rio Grande Valley.
According to the criminal complaint against the two women, they helped launder money derived from drug proceeds from the second floor of the business.
The investigation began more than three years ago when a purported drug trafficker contacted an associate, who unbeknownst to the drug trafficker was working as a confidential source for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The purported drug trafficker arranged to have the associate pick up roughly $63,500 in cash in Austin and Houston before dropping it off at South Tex Beauty Supply in McAllen.
Roughly a week later, the undercover associate delivered about $84,000 to Peña in a meeting held at a private office on the second floor of the business in McAllen.
Peña made remarks that acknowledged that the money was “dirty” and expressed to the undercover agent that she hoped there weren’t too many $5 bills because she was forced to hand-count all the bills due to a lack of a counting machine.
About five months later, the purported drug trafficker contacted the DEA undercover source and set up the movement of roughly 40 kilograms of meth to Dallas.
The undercover agent used fake bundles of the methamphetamine for a “controlled” delivery to four associates in Dallas for about $75,000.
The associates were arrested in Dallas and the fake meth was seized, court documents show.
A few days after the Dallas deal, the undercover source delivered nearly $56,000 in drug proceeds to Suprise and Peña on the second floor of the business where the women used a money counting machine to tally the cash, the record shows.
During that meeting, Suprise told the source that it would be easier to minimize suspicion if they used money orders from different locations in amounts ranging between $500 and $1,000.
After she confirmed the amount, the undercover source left the location.
Federal agents allege this delivery was directed by a known drug trafficker believed to be in Mexico at the time of the communications.
“Agents have conducted a financial investigation into the business accounts of (South Tex Beauty Supply) and have learned that large sums of cash are deposited almost daily,” the complaint stated.
Both women made their initial appearance in federal court via video Feb. 24, records show.
The following day, the judge granted Peña a $50,000 bond, and Suprise was set to be released once she met all detention conditions.
She will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until the bond is posted, records show.
