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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallDel Records CEO José Ángel Del Villar and his company, Del Entertainment Inc., were convicted by a federal jury in March 2025 of conducting business with a person designated under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Del Villar was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and fined $2 million in August 2025. The case concerns prohibited dealings with a sanctioned concert promoter—not a conviction for personally trafficking drugs.
What Del Villar was convicted of
On March 27, 2025, after a nine-day trial, a federal jury in Los Angeles found Del Villar and Del Entertainment guilty of one count of conspiracy to transact in property of specially designated narcotics traffickers and ten counts of violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the verdict in its verdict release.
The case was about financial and business dealings with a designated promoter. It was not a jury finding that Del Villar personally sold or transported narcotics.
What the Kingpin Act prohibits
The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act restricts people in the United States from conducting business with individuals and entities sanctioned under the law. The DOJ says the U.S. Treasury Department designated Guadalajara concert promoter Jesús Pérez Alvear, known as “Chucho,” and his company Gallistica Diamante, also known as Ticket Premier, on April 6, 2018. The DOJ reported that Treasury concluded Pérez facilitated money laundering for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and Los Cuinis.
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That Treasury rationale, as reported by the DOJ, explains Pérez’s designation; it is not a separate finding that Del Villar knew about every cartel activity attributed to Pérez.
What prosecutors said the concert dealings involved
According to the DOJ’s description of evidence presented at trial, Pérez promoted concerts for Del Entertainment in Mexico until March 2019. Prosecutors said Del Villar and the company continued arranging artist performances at concerts in which Pérez and Del Entertainment had a financial interest, despite knowing that dealing with Pérez was illegal.
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The DOJ said FBI agents told a musician about Pérez’s designation on April 19, 2018. The musician performed at a Pérez-organized concert in Aguascalientes on April 28, and Del Villar’s credit card paid for the private jet that flew the musician from Van Nuys Airport to the performance. The DOJ also identified later concerts in Mexicali and San José Iturbide, Guanajuato. These details describe the government’s account of trial evidence; the jury’s verdict is the finding of guilt.
How the case moved from allegations to sentence
- June 14, 2022: The DOJ announced arrests and a criminal complaint alleging conspiracy. Those were allegations at that stage, not a conviction. The DOJ’s arrest announcement stated that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
- March 27, 2025: A jury returned guilty verdicts against Del Villar and Del Entertainment on one conspiracy count and ten Kingpin Act counts.
- August 15, 2025: The court imposed sentences on Del Villar and the company.
What sentences did Del Villar and Del Entertainment receive?
Del Villar received 48 months in federal prison and a $2 million fine. Del Entertainment received three years’ probation and a $1.8 million fine, according to the DOJ’s sentencing announcement.
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Before sentencing, the DOJ’s verdict release said Del Villar faced a statutory maximum of 30 years per count. That was a maximum discussed before the sentence was imposed, not the punishment he ultimately received. Prosecutors argued in their sentencing memorandum that he was not an unwitting participant, but that characterization is the prosecution’s argument rather than a separate sentence or jury finding.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is the conviction appeal resolved?
The appeal outcome is not established by the available information. A secondary docket listing shows an appeal opened on August 25, 2025, and an order consolidating cases 25-5375 and 25-5488 on September 30, 2025. Its displayed entries stop in September 2025, so they do not establish whether the conviction has since been affirmed, reversed, or otherwise resolved.
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