Between January and April 2021, Rodrigo Gutiérrez Mueller, the older brother of Beatriz Gutiérrez Mueller, wife of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, registered two companies dedicated to financial services and money transfers, called Envíos del Bienestar SA de CV and Pagos del Bienestar SA de CV, along with other partners.
Among the partners in these companies, one registered in Mexico City and the other in Jalisco, are two foreign nationals, according to documents from the Public Registry of Commerce: Carlos Alberto Grijalva and Brian Ronald Cleland. The names of these foreign shareholders match those of two individuals accused of money laundering in the United States: Carlos A. Grijalva and Brian R. Cleland.
They are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to laundering more than $46 million. The accusation, apparently, is not linked to the Mexican companies.
According to documents from the U.S. Department of Justice, Grijalva and Cleland simulated the “sale of masks and other personal protective equipment against COVID-19.”
In August 2023, the U.S. government accused three Californian citizens: Bruce Jin and Carlos A. Grijalva, both 60 years old, and Brian R. Cleland, 72, of being responsible for a multimillion-dollar money laundering operation involving funds fraudulently obtained from “state unemployment compensation funds and other public funds.”
A press release from the Department of Justice explains that, during 2021 and early 2022, the three individuals, along with other unidentified accomplices presumed to be living in China, opened bank accounts using stolen identities and, from there, began claiming financial assistance in various U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. The years coincide with the opening of the Mexican companies.
“According to Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that Cleland, Jin, and Grijalva, along with other unnamed accomplices, conspired to obtain state unemployment compensation funds and other public funds through fraud,” the press release states.
The money was funneled to China through companies opened in Colorado, USA, in the names of Grijalva and Cleland. In return, they kept approximately 10% of the funds they laundered.
Between January and November 2025, the three defendants admitted their involvement in the operations and are currently awaiting sentencing scheduled for May of this year.
