US Attorney's Office
San Juan
Press Release
Máximo Paredes-Suárez was indicted for bulk cash smuggling and providing
false statements to federal officials, announced U.S. Attorney for the District
of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investi-
gations (ICE-HSI) are in charge of the investigation.
On or about November 12, 2016, Máximo Paredes-Suárez, did knowingly con-
ceal more than $10,000 in currency and other monetary instruments, to wit: six-
ty-two thousand three hundred eighty-six dollars ($62,386.00) in United States
currency, in his luggage, and attempted to transport and transfer said U.S. curren-
cy and monetary instruments from the San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International
Airport, in the District of Puerto Rico, to the Dominican Republic.
According to the indictment, the defendant willfully and knowingly made mate-
rially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements by stating to CBP and ICE-HSI
AirAT agents that he was not transporting any currency, at the San Juan Luis Mu-
ñoz Marín International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The statement and repre-
sentation was false because, as Paredes-Suárez then and there knew, he had $62,
386.00 in United States currency concealed in his luggage at the San Juan Luis
Muñoz Marín International Airport.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Zander. The ca-
se was investigated by Customs and Border Protection officers and Homeland Se-
curity Investigations (HSI) Airport Investigations and Tactical Team (AirTAT).
The maximum penalties for these offenses are 10 years of imprisonment. An in-
dictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are
presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
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