COLUMBUS, Ohio – A man accused of transporting or shipping over $1.5 million in drug trafficking money has pleaded guilty to federal drug and money laundering charges in Ohio.
Justice Department officials say Samuel Flek, of Orangevale, Calif., pleaded guilty Wednesday in Columbus.
Court documents say a drug organization began paying Flek, now 25, in 2012 to travel to Columbus to transport narcotics money from Ohio to California. He stored it in his luggage on commercial flights and later began shipping the cash in FedEx boxes under an alias. He’s also accused of transporting between 100 and 400 kilograms marijuana from Columbus to Dayton.
Authorities say Flek could be facing decades in prison. Flek’s attorney, Steve Nolder, says Flek hasn’t been in trouble before, and he’ll argue for a “reasonable sentence.”