Los Angeles, California – José Ángel Del Villar, the influential CEO of Latin music powerhouse Del Records, will spend the next four years in federal prison after being convicted of doing business with a sanctioned Mexican concert promoter tied to two of the country’s most notorious drug cartels.
Del Villar, 45, of Huntington Beach, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, who also ordered him to pay a $2 million fine. His company, Del Entertainment Inc., will serve three years of probation and pay an additional $1.8 million.
The sentencing follows a March conviction on one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act — a federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions with individuals or entities labeled as significant drug traffickers by the Treasury Department. Prosecutors argued that Del Villar knowingly flouted the law, keeping business ties with Guadalajara-based promoter Jesús “Chucho” Pérez Alvear after the U.S. formally sanctioned him in 2018…