HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Decatur man and a Venezuelan national were in federal court in Texas on Monday facing charges of violating U.S. sanctions related to Venezuela, illegally smuggling goods from the United States, and money laundering, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
According to the complaint, Thomas Michael Fortinberry, 51, of Decatur, and Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron, 56, of Huntsville, Texas, conspired for years to sell chemical catalysts, industrial equipment, and associated services to Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies that are subject to U.S. sanctions.
They were arrested Friday.
Cairo and Fortinberry’s scheme involved the use of U.S. and overseas front companies that served as intermediaries on shipping documents, foreign bank accounts that moved money into and out of the United States, and other activities designed to conceal the fact that the goods and services were destined for sanctioned entities, according to the Justice Department.
As alleged, from at least 2022 through the present, Cairo and Fortinberry — at times acting through companies that they owned or controlled such as DRI Reformers and Reformer Technologies — sold millions of dollars’ worth of catalysts, industrial equipment, and related services to the Venezuelan steel company Complejo Siderurgico de Guayana S.A., which is owned by the Venezuelan government and is subject to U.S. sanctions.
According to his LinkedIn page, Fortinberry is a director of Reformer Technologies.
The Justice Department said Cairo and Fortinberry allegedly used Chinese suppliers to ship the catalysts or industrial equipment directly from China to Venezuela, and in at least one instance, they shipped the goods from the United States to Venezuela.
As part of their scheme, Cario and Fortinberry allegedly transferred millions of dollars between bank accounts in the United States, Spain, and China — in transactions involving companies based in China, Germany, and Spain — all for the purpose of continuing their sanctions evasion scheme, and to conceal the true parties involved, according to the Justice Department.
If convicted, Cairo and Fortinberry face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the sanctions and money laundering violations, and 10 years in prison for the smuggling violation. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case, the news release said.
Trial Attorneys Adam P. Barry and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Mark McIntyre and John Marck for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani provided substantial assistance.
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