Peso Pluma Latin Music Angel Del Villar prison

Photo Credit: Ángel del Villar for Del Records

Latin music executive Ángel del Villar, instrumental in building Peso Pluma’s early career, was sentenced to four years in prison for money laundering.

Music executive Ángel del Villar, who built the early careers of successful Latin music artists like Gerardo Ortiz, Eslabón Armado, and Peso Pluma, has been sentenced to four years in federal U.S. prison.

He was convicted of conspiring to conduct financial transactions with a drug trafficker designated as such by the United States government. The music mogul faced a maximum penalty of 30 years but was sentenced to 48 months.

In addition to his sentence, Del Villar has been ordered to pay a fine of $2 million. He is scheduled to begin serving his sentence at a federal correctional facility on December 1.

According to prosecutors, the case stems from a series of concerts between 2018 and 2019 in which Del Villar’s company allegedly collaborated with a concert promoter from Guadalajara named Jesús “Chuco” Pérez Alvear. Pérez Alvear was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in April 2018 for laundering money for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and its financial arm, Los Cuinis.

In spite of the sanction, Del Villar’s company continued to do business with Pérez Alvear. Chart-topping singer Gerardo Ortiz testified that Del Villar misled him into performing at concerts organized by Pérez Alvear, despite allegedly knowing the promoter was on the U.S. government’s sanctions list.

Ortiz previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with the case, though his legal team stressed that he never admitted to knowingly working with drug cartels.

Del Villar founded Del Records in 2008 and turned it into a major powerhouse label for regional Mexican music in the United States. With a deep understanding of Mexican music traditions, Del Villar’s empire has often topped the Latin music charts. His company has been instrumental in propelling artists like Gerardo Ortíz, Ulices Chaidez, Luis Coronel, and Eslabón Armado.