Executives of CA company bribed cartels to smuggle goods into Mexico, feds say
Two Los Angeles shipping company executives made millions smuggling goods from the U.S. into Mexico in what federal prosecutors are calling a “massive scheme” that involved shell companies and bribes to public officials and Mexican drug cartels.
Ralph Olarte, 55, the chief financial officer of Sport LA Inc., and Humberto Lopez Belmonte, 53, the company’s CEO, are accused of smuggling goods worth billions to avoid paying customs duties owed to Mexico for more than a decade, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Olarte, of Glendale, and Lopez, of Mexico City, are facing a 22-count federal indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a May 28 news release. The indictment also names Sport LA Inc. and two of the company’s affiliates.
Authorities arrested Olarte the evening of May 27 at the Los Angeles International Airport, prosecutors said. Lopez was also arrested May 27, when he appeared at the Los Angeles federal courthouse for an arraignment.
Both men have pleaded not guilty, court records show.
Olarte’s court-appointed public defender, R. Reid Rowe, didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment May 29.
Mark Werksman, a defense attorney retained by Lopez, told McClatchy News that “the government’s convoluted allegations against Mr. Lopez Belmonte and his companies are demonstrably false and we look forward to rebutting them in court.”
“The indictment completely distorts and misrepresents how my client and his companies do business,” Werksman said via email on May 29. “Simply put, there is no truth to these charges.”
The 59-page indictment charges Olarte and Lopez with one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States, according to prosecutors.
Olarte, Lopez and Sports LA Inc. are also charged with:
one count of smuggling goods from the U.S.
three counts of knowingly submitting false and misleading export information
five counts of wire fraud for false information submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection
one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Mexico
one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering
seven counts of international promotional and concealment money laundering.
“From at least 2013 to the present,” prosecutors said Olarte and Lopez used several companies to run a “lucrative international shipping enterprise” as part of their scheme that defrauded Mexico out of hundreds of millions of dollars, prosecutors said.
With their companies, they deceived U.S. customs officials to smuggle goods, including items with contraband inside, to Mexico, according to prosecutors, who said the companies provided “millions” of false statements to U.S. customs.
Olarte and Lopez protected their customers with shell companies based in Mexico, prosecutors said.
They also forged documents that seemingly showed they had paid required import taxes to Mexico, according to prosecutors.
Olarte and Lopez are accused of bribing Mexican customs officials and paid “kickbacks” to members of Mexican drug cartels, such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in exchange for their help in the scheme — and to smuggle large amounts of cash into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Olarte and Lopez then laundered the proceeds of their scheme back from the true Mexican customers, through the shell companies, and ultimately into the companies’ U.S. bank accounts,” prosecutors said.
The men are being investigated by multiple federal agencies: Homeland Security Investigations, CBP, the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to prosecutors.
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Executives of CA company bribed cartels to smuggle goods into Mexico, feds say."
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