A local Mexican restaurant owner facing charges of fraud and money laundering will not be detained pending his federal criminal trial.
Cesar Campos-Reyes is the owner of Mariachi’s Mexican Grill in Gulf Breeze and multiple locations of El Patron Mexican Grill in Pace and Pensacola, according to Florida business records.
Campos-Reyes was indicted in April on four counts of federal bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
“These charges stem from an alleged scheme involving federal program fraud,” a release from the U.S. Attorney in Alabama said. “In total, law enforcement searched 14 locations across six Alabama counties. … Eight of the 14 locations were restaurants.”
Law enforcement agencies in Alabama executed search warrants at multiple properties related Campos-Reyes following his indictment.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office made a motion to detain him pending his bank fraud trial, however a judge ruled July 25 that Campos-Reyes did not need to be detained.
Campos-Reyes faces up to up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
The charges were a culmination of a coordinated investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The News Journal attempted to reach both Campos-Reyes and Mariachi’s co-owner Armando Lopez, but neither responded. According to Google listings, Mariachi’s is listed as temporarily closed.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Mariachi’s and El Patron owner faces decades in federal prison for laundering, bank fraud
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
