| After Guilty Plea of
Max Cartier for Crypto
Laundering Colombian Cash
another Co-D Plea
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE,
Dec 11 – Charged with
laundering money for Colombian
drug cartel using the crypto
currency Tether, Maximilien De
Hoop Cartier was arrested in
Miami in February
2024.
On July 18,
Cartier was brought by
Marshals before U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Mary Kay Vyskocil for a change
of attorney proceeding. Inner
City Press was there.
On December 11
Inner City Press went to the
proceeding and live tweeted
it, here.
Bail was denied, on risk of
flight grounds. Trial is set
for June 9, 2025.
By TRULINCS email
dated January 22, 2025 De Hoop
Cartier wrote in seeking to
relieve his lawyer from the
case and get his money back.
The lawyer wrote
in with a copy of his fee
agreement for $300,000, with
$100,000 due immediately.
Judge Vyskocil
set a February 6 hearing at 2
pm.
On January 30 de
Hoop Cartier filed his own
motion to dismiss, contesting
among other things venue.
On February 5, he
wrote in that the fee
agreement filed by his
(former?) counsel, he had
never seen it...
On February 6,
Inner City Press was in the
courtroom when Cartier
declined to waive attorney
client privilege and got a new
CJA lawyer, who indicated she
can do the June 9 trial (which
Judge Vyskocil said she does
not want to move, does not
want to reward what has
happened).
On February 21,
Judge Vykocil ruled: "the
parties shall appear for a
conference on February 28,
2025 at 11:30 AM."
Inner City Press
went:
"Judge: Sir, I
think you are playing games,
changing counsel repeatedly.
We won't do it again. The
dates will stick. Defense: One
of the discovery drives is
corrupted.
Judge:
Trial is set for Nov 17, with
Speedy Trial Act time excluded
until then. [Six lawyers have
come in for a TRO argument
involving Bitcoin. One of them
comes over to (spin?) Inner
City Press]
On April
25 the defense moved to
dismiss counts 2, 3 and 4 of
the superseding indictment...
On May 16
(presented Saturday May 17 and
Monday May 19) two
co-defendants came into SDNY
and were detained on
consent.Areiza Ceballos and
Estrada Echeverry.
On July 1, Inner
City Press went to their
proceeding. The AUSA, wearing
shades, said there are three
more in Colombia, but wanted
to keep these two in the
November trial. It still may
happen. Afterward in the
docket: "Next Conference date
August 27th at 11am." More
than a dozen drives for
discovery were cited...
On July 11 the
AUSA was in the Magistrates
Court, as was Inner City
Press, when two more were
extradited in, arriving the
day before in Westchester and
in WCDOC orange. Both were
detained on consent.
On July 15, two
of the co-defendants were
arraigned: "Arraignment as to
Leonardo De Jesus Zuluaga
Duque (2) Count 1,1s,2,6s; and
Alexander Egidio Areiza
Ceballos (5) Count 2,6s held
on 7/15/2025. Arraignment
held. Both defendants plead
not guilty. Next Conference
date August 27th at 11am."
On July 28 the US
Attorney's Office wrote in
announcing their S3 indictment
which "does not include a
charge for engaging in a
monetary transaction in
property derived from
specified unlawful activity,
which was previously charged
in Count Four to the S2
indictment."
On August 27
Inner City Press went to the
proceeding of four
co-defendants. Of one, the
AUSA said plea talks require
conferring with Main Justice
and Colombia officials - will
they vary from the crimes
extradited on? Guns? Trial was
set for January 26-30, 2025,
with motions before.
On October 10,
Judge Vyskocil set Cartier's
change of plea- to guilty -
for October 15.
It began - but
was continued to October 20:
"Change of Plea Hearing as to
Maximilien De Hoop Cartier
held on 10/15/2025. Change of
plea held. Kathleen Cassidy
and Chloe Lewis appeared for
the defendant. AUSAs Jennifer
Ong and Eli Mark appeared for
the government. Proceeding
continued to October 20th,
2025 at 11:30."
But it was on
October 23 that it was
consummated: "Change of Plea
Hearing as to Maximilien De
Hoop Cartier held on
10/23/2025. Change of plea
held. Kathleen Cassidy and
Chloe Lewis appeared for the
defendant. AUSA Jennifer Ong
and Eli Mark appeared for the
government. Defendant waived
indictment and plead guilty to
a 2 count information.
Sentencing to be held February
3rd, 2026 at 11:30"
On November 12
another plead was set: "as to
Adrian Fernando Areiza
Ceballos: Change of Plea
Hearing set for 11/24/2025 at
02:30 PM in Courtroom 18C, 500
Pearl Street, New York, NY
10007 before Judge Mary Kay
Vyskocil."
That plea,
too, was consummated:
"proceedings held before Judge
Mary Kay Vyskocil: Change of
Plea Hearing as to Adrian
Fernando Areiza Ceballos held
on 11/24/2025. hange of plea
held. Jean DeSales Barrett
appeared for defendant. AUSAs
Jennifer Ong and Eli Mark
appeared for the government.
Defendant plea guilty to count
6 of the S2 superseding
indictment. Sentencing to be
held February 24th, 2026 at
2pm."
On December 11,
another: "Change of Plea
Hearing as to Felipe Estrada
Echeverry held on 12/11/2025.
Defendant waived indictment
and plea guilty to the S(6)
information. Sentencing is
scheduled for April 8th, 2026
at 11am."
The
complaint said "Cartier is
purportedly a direct
descendant of Louis-Francois
Cartier, the master
jeweler...and purports to be a
philanthropist, entrepreneur,
art collector and
industrialist and investor in
beverages and 'fintech' as
well as a singer under the
name 'Max
Cartier.'"
Online it's said
"In 2007 he founded Patagonia,
which produces fine wine,
premium beer and also some of
the best water in the world."
And his music, or photos of
concerts, are on his
now-dormant Instagram.
The case is
USA v. Cartier, et al.,
1:24-cr-133 (Vyskocil)
***
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