Salt Lake business owner pleads guilty to laundering $17M in drug operation

SALT LAKE CITY — A former Salt Lake County business owner pleaded guilty Wednesday to laundering more than $17 million in drug proceeds.

Georgina Espinoza-Grajeda, 43, of Eagle Mountain, was investigated by a Homeland Security Task Force for her role as operator of Multiservicios Lokos, LLC. The business came under scrutiny in late 2023 and was accused of being used as a front to wire millions of dollars of drug money to suppliers in Honduras and Mexico.

While in operation, Multiservicios Lokos advertised money services such as cashing checks and wiring money. It operated in the same storefront as Antojitos Lokos, a snack bar located on the corner of 300 E. 3300 South in South Salt Lake.

When Espinoza-Grajeda and her employee, Jesid Dadiana De Sutter, were arrested, nearby strip mall employees were shocked. Both businesses in the shared storefront were subsequently closed after law enforcement seized 62,000 fentanyl pills, 24.5 pounds of heroin, 8.5 pounds of cocaine, several guns and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at the business.

Espinoza-Grajeda assisted in money laundering the cash proceeds from drug sales of multiple drug trafficking organizations by sending falsified wire transfers through Antojitos Lokos, the charges state. In total, she and her co-conspirators deposited more than $17,000,000 in cash proceeds from drug sales.

She was indicted in November 2023, before later being charged in a superseding indictment along with 25 other defendants, including the business itself. Those charged live in cities across Salt Lake and Utah counties, charged with various financial and drug crimes.

Espinoza-Grajeda and De Sutter were charged with conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to structure transactions to evade reporting requirements and conspiracy to evade suspicious activity reporting and anti-money laundering requirements.

De Sutter pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to launder money. In her plea statement, De Sutter said she laundered the drug proceeds with the assistance of Espinoza-Grajeda.

"I and my co-conspirators then conducted financial transactions using the proceeds of the distribution of controlled substances, with the intent to promote the further distribution of controlled substances," De Sutter said in her plea.

She also said almost $30,000 seized from her in November 2023 was proceeds from the money-laundering scheme. She will be sentenced on Nov. 23.

On Wednesday, Espinoza-Grajeda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money. Court documents state she was residing in Utah illegally from Mexico. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 14.

Over the last two years, 21 defendants have been sentenced for their various roles in the schemes, some of whom participated in the money laundering aspect and some possessed or distributed the controlled substances. The sentences ranged from two- to six-year prison terms, plus three or four years of probation. Sixteen of the defendants will also face deportation after their terms are complete.

Only three other defendants, including Multiservicios Lokos, have not yet been convicted or pleaded guilty. A jury trial is scheduled for December, but prosecutors noted in a recent status hearing that progress is being made and parties are close to reaching plea agreements with the remaining defendants.

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