Treasury Department Salaries: Reaching $102,235 Per Year

The children of alleged mexican bosses They were in an elite school in Floridaaccording to a report from Treasury Department of USA.

In the document “IMG AcademyLLC settles with OFAC for $1.7 million in connection with apparent violations of the anti-drug sanctions“, the Department adds that the academy conducted transactions for five consecutive years with two individuals (identified as SDN 1 y SDN 2) who were sanctioned for their ties to a drug cartel based in Mexico.

IMG Academy, whose campus is located in BradentonFlorida, is a hospitalized that offers an elite academic and sporting level.

“Between 2018 and 2022, IMG Academy entered into annual contracts, in the form of tuition agreements (ATM or “agreements”), with two individuals with Special National Designation (SDN) —hereinafter, “SDN 1” and “SDN 2”, or “the SDNs” together— sanctioned under the Law for the Designation of Foreign Drug Trafficking Leaders (FNA) (Kingpin Act) for providing financial support and services to a Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization (ODN) sanctioned and/or its main leader”.

As reported by the Treasury Department, “IMG Academy also received and processed tuition and other related payments under these agreements throughout its relationship with the SDNs. These agreements and transactions were carried out for the enrollment and attendance of the SDNs’ two student-athlete children.”

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For the first student, they paid 98 thousand 867 dollars for an academic year full: “During each of the following five academic years, IMG Academy and SDN 1 renewed their TEAs annually until Student-Athlete 1’s graduation in spring 2023. SDN 1’s payment obligations under each TEA ranged from $47,026 for a half-semester to $98,867 for a full academic year of Student-Athlete 1’s enrollment.”

For the second student the figure was up to 102 thousand 235 dollars: “SDN 2’s payment obligations, according to each TEA, ranged between 100,549 and 102,235 for each full academic year of Student-Athlete 2’s enrollment. Each TEA obligated SDN 1 and SDN 2 to be unconditionally responsible for the payment of their respective children’s account, which included charges for tuition, lodging, and additional expenses incurred by each child during their attendance.”

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According to the Department, the academy received paid of tuition through bank transfers from third parties and entities located mainly in Mexico.

“SDN 1 and SDN 2 primarily fulfilled their payment obligations to IMG Academy through third-party bank transfers and payments with credit card that the SDNs had registered in IMG”.

It adds that “IMG Academy received wire transfers from non-designated third-party individuals and entities, primarily located in Mexico, to its bank account at a U.S. financial institution, for credit to each student-athlete’s account. IMG Academy also charged payments to the credit cards on file for each student-athlete.

“In addition, when there was a positive balance at the end of the year in the account of any of the student-athletes, IMG Academy applied the amounts from one academic year to the next to cover a portion of the new IMG Academy TEA with the respective SDN.”

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IMG Academy is a boarding school offering elite academic and athletic level located in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Photo: Taken from X via @IMGAcademy

In the report, the Department mentions that “IMG Academy demonstrated a reckless contempt for the requirements of EU sanctions by committing the alleged violations, including the failure to carry out verifications of criminal record to their counterparts.

It details that “during the application process, the registration stage and when signing each TEA, SDNs provided full name data that matched their entries on the SDN List. Minimal due diligence at any point in this process would have revealed that these customers were sanctioned. This omission allowed numerous violations for an extended period.”

The report mentions that the agreement covers 89 occasions between 2019 and 2025 in which the academy carried out transactions or maintained contracts with two sanctioned individuals linked to a Mexican cartel.

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Furthermore, the $1,720,000 penalty reflects that the OFAC It considered the violations “non-egregious,” but also took into account that the academy did not voluntarily disclose the violations (since OFAC had already launched an investigation when the school reported what happened).

The academy reportedly “took immediate corrective action upon learning of the alleged violations and has since developed and implemented a sanctions compliance from OFAC”.

Additionally, “following a change in ownership in June 2023, IMG Academy hired, among other leadership positions, a new Chief Legal Officer, who conducted a retrospective review and implemented a risk-based sanctions compliance program.

The report mentions that “IMG Academy cooperated with OFAC by responding in a timely and substantial manner to all requests for information. IMG Academy also agreed to suspend the statute of limitations during the OFAC investigation.”

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