By Gangsters Inc. Editors
A Chicago man who helped move dirty drug money for a Mexico-based trafficking organization was convicted earlier this month following a week-long federal trial in Chicago.
41-year-old David Berger was found guilty on December 15 of two counts of money laundering and one count of illegally structuring financial transactions. The verdict came after prosecutors laid out how Berger served as a financial facilitator for an international cocaine operation. Each money laundering count carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2026.
Trial testimony showed that between 2018 and 2021, the Mexico-based organization shipped wholesale quantities of cocaine north of the border for distribution in major U.S. markets, including Chicago. Once the drugs were sold, millions of dollars in cash proceeds were moved back toward Mexico.
Cash via private jet
One preferred method was air travel.
According to prosecutors, cartel operatives relied on privately chartered jets to transport cash across the border. Those flights were booked and paid for through intermediaries, including Berger, who received more than $300,000 in cash drug proceeds to cover charter costs and his personal cut.
Berger deposited the cash through automated teller machines in carefully structured amounts designed to evade federal currency-reporting requirements, a tactic commonly used to keep illicit funds off regulators’ radar.
The jury rejected Berger’s defense and returned guilty verdicts on all counts, ending his role as a behind-the-scenes facilitator for an international drug pipeline.
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