California Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Daniel Hooker, 35, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, Nov. 15, 2024.

According to court documents, from August 2023 through March 2024, Hooker and three co?conspirators conducted multiple financial transactions involving funds they believed to be proceeds of cocaine trafficking. Their belief as to the nature of the funds was based on representations of an individual working at the direction of law enforcement. On two different occasions in 2023 and 2024, Hooker met the individual in a parking lot in Rancho Cordova and accepted a total of $100,000 in cash to be laundered. After those meetings in Rancho Cordova, Hooker wired funds from a bank account he controlled into a bank account designated by the individual in an effort to complete the laundering. In total, the conspirators received approximately $940,000 in purported drug trafficking proceeds. Of that amount, the conspirators laundered approximately $811,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) . Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Thuesen and Whitnee Goins are prosecuting the case.

U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins is scheduled to sentence Hooker on Feb. 21, 2025. Hooker faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.