Mexican-American singer Gerardo Ortiz will serve three years of probation after testifying against Angel del Villar, a Del Records executive whom federal prosecutors have linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Del Villar was found in March guilty for violating the Anti-Theft Act, a federal law that prohibits U.S. residents and companies from doing business with known drug traffickers and their associates. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison and fined $2 million. However, Del Villar remains at large as long as he appeals his sentence.
Ortiz also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to the case and was sentenced to three years probation on Nov. 19. He will also pay a fine, but the amount has not been confirmed, his publicist said in an email to The Times.
“First of all, I want to apologize to my fans for everything that happened,” Ortiz said. “We hope to continue to move forward.”
In the statement, the “Mañana Voy a Conquistarla” singer also promoted his new album “El Ejemplar,” which means “sample” in Spanish, which was released the day after his sentencing on November 20.
The federal lawsuit against Del Villar dates back to 2022after federal authorities accused the label mogul and his company of doing business with Jesus Perez Alvear, a Guadalajara-based music promoter who also went by the nickname “Chucho.”
The Treasury Department previously sanctioned Perez Alvear, who they said laundered drug money for CJNG and an associated human trafficking ring. Queenie.
In the same 2022 complaintIt was also alleged that the “famous musician,” now known as Mexican music star Ortiz, was approached by an FBI agent at the Phoenix airport on April 19, 2018. The official informed the hitmaker about Perez Alvear's alleged connections to criminal organizations in Mexico and prohibited Ortiz from doing business with him in the future.
Despite the warning, Ortiz admitted to performing on April 28, 2018, at the San Marcos Festival in Aguascalientes, Mexico, which was organized by Perez Alvear. Del Villar's credit card was used to pay for the airline ticket.
“We were there singing at that event; everyone saw it on YouTube, saw the photos. For the fans who were there that day, it was impossible to say no. This show happened; we were there in Aguascalientes and that's it. I have nothing more to say,” Ortiz said after the verdict. “Was there a lie? A lot of things have been said, but it's true. We sang at that concert, we were there, sharing some of our music with the audience.”
Prosecutors argued that it was Del Villar who convinced Ortiz to ignore the FBI warning because he wanted to profit from the promoter's window displays. Authorities said that on several occasions in 2018 and 2019, Perez Alvear and Del Villar continued to conduct business by booking Ortiz to appear at concerts throughout Mexico.
Perez Alvear promoted Del Entertainment's concerts in Mexico until March 2019. December 2024he was shot to death in a Mexico City restaurant.
Before the case, Del Records at one point feuded with Ortiz, a Pasadena native who was once arrested in Mexico on charges of “criminal exaltation” for appearing in a music video in which a drug lord's mistress was bound, gagged and stuffed into the trunk of a car, which Ortiz then set on fire.
Ortiz and Del Villar sued each other in 2019, accusing each other of fraud and other misconduct. When the FBI raided the Bell Gardens label's offices in 2020, a spokesman said agents were only looking for records related to Ortiz.
Times reporter Matthew Ormseth, Carlos de Loera and Britney Mejia contributed to this report.
