Fact-check findings

The reviewer could not reconcile the claim with the evidence it cited. This is a lead, not a ruling that the claim is false.

1. #2[disputed][awaiting moderator]in section: Regulatory Status and SDN Designations

   “Five of the six Ethereum addresses are attributed to network leader Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles; one is attributed to his associate Liliana Orozco Romero.”

   reviewerFive of the six newly designated Ethereum addresses are attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, and the sixth is attributed to Liliana Orozco Romero.OFAC's own SDN listing (the page's own cited primary source) attributes 0xaC4cC4B68ea24BbFAAC8fD127B67Ed445ACcCE22 to Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares, not Ojeda Aviles, and attributes 0x14779CEC0B117d5194c750C55Ea1f42086631964 to Ojeda Aviles, not Liliana Orozco Romero. Liliana Orozco Romero has no ETH address in her SDN entry. The page's attribution traces to a TRM Labs error that other outlets (procoinnews.com) also repeated, but it contradicts the government's own primary listing.
   Proposed correction (not yet applied)

   Five of the six Ethereum addresses are attributed to network leader Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles; one is attributed to his associate Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares.
   citedhome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0503ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260520www.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/26/eth…by-us-government
2. #4[disputed][awaiting moderator]in section: Designated Ethereum Addresses

   “Five addresses are attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles: 0xaC4cC4B68ea24BbFAAC8fD127B67Ed445ACcCE22, 0x4F428c11Dc82388fa5136D636e613ad923Eb700B, 0xf2235d55b2950a0b1317469d72d07ae65b2e27cb, 0x32dA24Ca413F3E7B53145D4737e172C3bdF81e3e, and 0x038989cbb1710c72b9920dc4fa529158f463e72c. One address is attributed to Liliana Orozco Romero: 0x14779CEC0B117d5194c750C55Ea1f42086631964.”

   reviewerFive addresses (listed) are attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles and one address (0x14779CEC0B117d5194c750C55Ea1f42086631964) is attributed to Liliana Orozco Romero.Same underlying misattribution as the section 1 finding, repeated here with the full address list. Separately, this section cites the Treasury press release (sb0503) as a source for the specific addresses, but that press release does not contain the address list at all — only OFAC's recent-actions SDN page does, and that page attributes two of the six addresses differently than stated.
   Proposed correction (not yet applied)

   Five addresses are attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles: 0x038989cbb1710c72b9920dc4fa529158f463e72c, 0x14779CEC0B117d5194c750C55Ea1f42086631964, 0x32dA24Ca413F3E7B53145D4737e172C3bdF81e3e, 0xf2235d55b2950a0b1317469d72d07ae65b2e27cb, and 0x4F428c11Dc82388fa5136D636e613ad923Eb700B. One address is attributed to Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares: 0xaC4cC4B68ea24BbFAAC8fD127B67Ed445ACcCE22.
   citedwww.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/ofac-sanc…hereum-addresseshome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0503www.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/26/eth…by-us-government
3. #16[disputed][awaiting moderator]in the timeline

   “Five addresses attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles; one to Liliana Orozco Romero.”

   reviewer(Timeline) Five addresses attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles; one to Liliana Orozco Romero, in the May 20, 2026 action.Same underlying error as the two section-level findings; grouped under the same defect_group so it can be corrected in one pass.
   Proposed correction (not yet applied)

   Five addresses attributed to Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles; one to Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares.
   citedhome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0503

The cited evidence supports part of the claim but not all of it.

1. #10[partially supported][awaiting moderator]in section: Money Laundering Typology

   “The Scorechain analysis noted involvement of Chinese money laundering organizations that settled accounts via cryptocurrency at fees of approximately 0.5 to 5 percent.”

   reviewerThe Scorechain analysis noted involvement of Chinese money laundering organizations that settled accounts via cryptocurrency at fees of approximately 0.5 to 5 percent.The underlying fact (CMLO involvement, 0.5-5% fees) is accurate and sourced, but the page specifically attributes it to 'the Scorechain analysis,' whereas Scorechain's article does not discuss this at all; the correct attribution is TRM Labs, which is cited in the same section's source list.
   citedwww.scorechain.com/blog/ofac-sinaloa-car…nctions-may-2026www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/ofac-sanc…hereum-addresses

The cited evidence supports the claim as written.

1. #1[confirmed][no action needed]in the summary

   “The most recent action, on May 20, 2026, added six Ethereum addresses and 11 individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, marking the eighth Sinaloa Cartel designation linked to cryptocurrency since September 2023.”

   reviewerThe May 20, 2026 OFAC action added six Ethereum addresses and designated 11 individuals, marking the eighth Sinaloa Cartel cryptocurrency-linked designation since September 2023.Confirmed against both the Treasury press release and OFAC's own recent-actions listing, with the 'eighth' figure independently corroborated by Scorechain's analysis.
   citedhome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0503ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260520
2. #3[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Regulatory Status and SDN Designations

   “A separate, earlier designation in September 2023 added the first known Sinaloa Cartel-linked Ethereum address (0x9C2Bc757B66F24D60F016B6237F8CdD414a879Fa), attributed to money launderer Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro.”

   reviewerThe September 2023 designation added the first known Sinaloa Cartel-linked Ethereum address (0x9C2Bc757B66F24D60F016B6237F8CdD414a879Fa), attributed to Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro.Directly confirmed by CoinDesk's contemporaneous reporting, consistent with the Treasury background list of prior designations.
   citedwww.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/26/eth…by-us-government
3. #5[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Designated Ethereum Addresses

   “that wallet allegedly received approximately $740,000 in deposits to Binance over a two-month period beginning January 2023”

   reviewerThe Ethereum address linked to Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro allegedly received approximately $740,000 in deposits to Binance over a two-month period beginning January 2023.Matches the cited source closely.
   citedwww.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/26/eth…by-us-government
4. #6[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Designated Individuals and Entities

   “The May 20, 2026 action designated 11 individuals across two networks and two corporate entities.”

   reviewerThe May 20, 2026 action designated 11 individuals and two entities as described (Ojeda Aviles network: Ojeda Aviles, Aispuro Felix, Alarcon Palomares, Alfredo Orozco Romero, Romero Moreno, Liliana Orozco Romero; Gonzalez Penuelas network: Gonzalez Penuelas, Bojorquez Chaparro, Garcia Sandoval, Moreno Zamora, Saenz Aguilar, Castro Rocha; entities Gorditas Chiwas and Grupo Especial Mamba Negra).Roster, role descriptions, and entity names all verified against the primary OFAC/Treasury sources.
   citedhome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0503www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/treasury-depa…ndicted-colorado
5. #7[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Designated Individuals and Entities

   “Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares (money pickup facilitator, indicted in the District of Colorado in April 2024 on three counts of cryptocurrency laundering of drug proceeds)”

   reviewerRodrigo Alarcon Palomares was indicted in the District of Colorado in April 2024 on three counts of cryptocurrency laundering of drug proceeds.Direct WebFetch of justice.gov returned a 401 (likely bot-blocking), but the content was independently confirmed via search-engine-cached text of the same release and corroborated by Treasury's background chronology.
   citedwww.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/treasury-depa…ndicted-colorado
6. #8[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Designated Individuals and Entities

   “Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas (drug kingpin active since 2007 with a $5 million DEA reward offered as of January 2024, and a fugitive from justice)”

   reviewerJesus Gonzalez Penuelas is a drug kingpin active since 2007, a fugitive from justice, with a $5 million DEA reward offered as of January 2024.Core facts (reward amount, date, fugitive status) confirmed; the 2007 activity-start date is plausible background detail from the same source but was not independently cross-verified against a second source.
   citedhome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0503
7. #9[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Money Laundering Typology

   “stablecoins — reportedly approximately 98.8% USDT or USDC — which were pooled and layered across multiple cryptocurrency wallets, with dwell times reportedly under ten minutes per wallet”

   reviewerScorechain's analysis found the laundering typology relied on approximately 98.8% USDT/USDC stablecoins with wallet dwell times reportedly under ten minutes per wallet.Matches the cited Scorechain research closely.
   citedwww.scorechain.com/blog/ofac-sinaloa-car…nctions-may-2026
8. #11[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Money Laundering Typology

   “Transaction volumes cited in related enforcement contexts include a prior 2024 case involving approximately $15 million moved through cryptocurrency, a separate Los Angeles-linked case involving more than $50 million in drug proceeds, and Chinese precursor manufacturer payments that grew from approximately $30.9 million in 2023 to $39.1 million by 2025.”

   reviewerRelated enforcement contexts cited include a 2024 case moving ~$15 million through cryptocurrency, a Los Angeles-linked case moving >$50 million in drug proceeds, and Chinese precursor manufacturer payments growing from ~$30.9 million (2023) to ~$39.1 million (2025).All three figures are confirmed, sourced to TRM Labs (one of the three sources cited for this section, alongside Scorechain and Chainalysis).
   citedwww.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/ofac-sanc…hereum-addresses
9. #12[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Regulatory and Legal Framework

   “On February 6, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated the Cartel de Sinaloa as an FTO and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), with the designation published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2025.”

   reviewerE.O. 14059 was signed in December 2021 and E.O. 13224 (as amended) is the basis for counter-terrorism authority tied to the Sinaloa Cartel's FTO/SDGT status, designated by Secretary Rubio on February 6, 2025 and published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2025.Both dates and the signer's name are independently confirmed. The Federal Register URL itself returned a CAPTCHA/access-limit page on direct fetch rather than the document — not evidence the page is dead, but automated verification required a secondary route (govinfo.gov mirror, news coverage).
   citedwww.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/0…artel-de-sinaloa
10. #13[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Historical Pattern of Sinaloa Cartel Crypto Designations

    “Scorechain noted that the May 2026 update also escalated Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas' existing SDN entry, which dated to May 2021, by adding SDGT status and explicit cartel linkage — a change that compliance teams relying on pre-May 20 list versions would have missed.”

    reviewerThe May 2026 action escalated Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas' existing SDN entry (dating to May 2021) by adding SDGT status and explicit cartel linkage.Confirmed by both the cited research source and two independent primary sources.
    citedwww.scorechain.com/blog/ofac-sinaloa-car…nctions-may-2026
11. #14[confirmed][no action needed]in section: Historical Pattern of Sinaloa Cartel Crypto Designations

    “Subsequent actions in 2024 targeted Mexico- and China-based money launderers and expanded the known SDN-listed crypto address set.”

    reviewerSubsequent actions in 2024 targeted Mexico- and China-based money launderers linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and involved cryptocurrency.Confirmed directly; the 'expanded SDN-listed crypto address set' characterization is a reasonable paraphrase of the release's content.
    citedhome.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2439
12. #15[confirmed][no action needed]in the timeline

    “OFAC designates nine Sinaloa Cartel-linked individuals including Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro and adds the first cartel-linked Ethereum address (0x9C2Bc757B66F24D60F016B6237F8CdD414a879Fa) to the SDN list. The wallet had allegedly received approximately $740,000 in deposits to Binance over two months.”

    reviewer(Timeline) OFAC designated nine Sinaloa Cartel-linked individuals including Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro and added the first cartel-linked Ethereum address on September 26, 2023; the wallet had allegedly received ~$740,000 in deposits to Binance over two months.Date and dollar figures independently confirmed.
    citedwww.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/26/eth…by-us-government