The owner and operator of Tienda Santa Maria II LLC has been charged with money laundering.
This comes after Jose Alonso Paramo Arguello, 45, used his money service businesses to launder narcotics trafficking proceeds and structure financial transactions to avoid suspicion of law enforcement. A citizen of Mexico and unlawfully residing in the United States, he has been charged by criminal complaint with money laundering.
According to court documents, Arguello is the owner and operator of the Phoenix business, along with two others, Tienda Santa Maria in Medford, and Paramos Barber Shop in Central Point. Arguello uses his three businesses to transfer narcotics trafficking proceeds to Mexico by breaking down transactions into smaller amounts and using fake names and addresses for the money senders to conceal the true nature and source of the funds.
From January 2, 2024, through December 3, 2025, Arguello’s three money service businesses transferred more than $13 million in wire transfers of $500 or more to Mexico, an amount often indicative of narcotics trafficking. Of that, over $7 million was sent to locations in Mexico associated with narcotics trafficking.
The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) provided an informant with cash to attempt to wire money to Mexico. From November 2025 through January 2026, Arguello laundered over $45,000 in what the informant represented as drug trafficking proceeds through 22 wire transfers. While doing so, Arguello received a 10% commission to launder the funds.
Arguello made his first appearance in federal court Wednesday before a U.S. Magistrate judge. He was ordered detained pending a further court proceeding scheduled for March 23rd in Medford. IRS-CI is investigating the case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET), and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
