Owner of MoVal, Pico Rivera Clubs to Plead Guilty to Money Laundering

The owner of nightclubs in Moreno Valley and Pico Rivera has agreed to plead guilty to federal money laundering charges linked to a cross-border drug-trafficking ring, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.

Edgar Fragoso, 38, owner of the El Rodeo nightclubs, admitted to laundering about $235,000 in cash and has forfeited the state liquor license issued to his Pico Rivera club, according to his plea agreement filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court.

Fragoso was arrested Feb. 23 on suspicion of money laundering after agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided his nightclub, his Hacienda Heights home and the Pico Rivera home of his mother.

Federal prosecutors alleged that the Pico Rivera nightspot served as a drop-off point where undercover informants would hand over up to $150,000 in cash at a time for laundering.

The investigation into the Pico Rivera club was triggered by the 2012 arrests of two people who were trafficking methamphetamine in Texas, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

The federal money laundering charge carries a maximum 20-year federal prison sentence, prosecutors said.

Fragoso is free on $100,000 bail. A date for his change-of-plea hearing has not been set.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock