Del Records CEO found guilty after doing business with cartel-linked concert promoter

A federal jury Thursday convicted the chief executive of Del Records, a Bell Gardens-based label that produces Latin music, of conspiring to violate a federal law that prohibits U.S. residents and companies from doing business with known drug traffickers and their associates.

After a nine-day trial, Ángel Del Villar, 44, and his talent agency, Del Entertainment, were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to do business with sanctioned people connected to drug trafficking, in violation of the Kingpin Act and 10 counts of violating the Kingpin Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A.

The Kingpin Act prohibits anyone in the U.S. from engaging in deals or transactions with people or businesses sanctioned by the Treasury Department.

Federal authorities arrested and charged Del Villar in 2022.

In April 2018, Del Villar and the talent agency did business with Jesús Pérez Alvear, a.k.a. “Chucho,” a Guadalajara-based music promoter who had been sanctioned by the Treasury Department, according to evidence presented at trial. Treasury officials said at the time that Pérez had laundered drug money for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion and a related trafficking group, Los Cuinis.

Pérez was accused of commingling the traffickers’ profits with legitimate revenue from ticket and refreshment sales. He also promoted singers of narcocorridos, ballads which “glorify” traffickers and their crimes, Treasury officials said.

Pérez had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to do business with sanctioned people connected to drug trafficking. He promoted concerts for Del Entertainment in Mexico until March 2019. He was murdered in Mexico in December 2024.

During the trial — which featured testimony from a popular singer of Mexican regional music named Gerardo Ortiz — Del Villar’s attorneys tried to shift the blame onto a former employee of Del Records, Brian Gutiérrez. One of Del Villar’s attorneys, Marissa Goldberg, said in her opening statement that the case centered around “misplaced trust” and “manipulation.”

Goldberg accused Gutierrez of working with the government, “to manufacture a gotcha situation to take down someone that they perceived to be on top.”

In an emailed statement, Del Villar’s legal team said they strongly disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal.

“This is one of those times that the criminal justice system got it wrong,” the statement read. “This case was unique and unprecedented and it is clear that this complexity unfortunately was misunderstood.”

“On a personal level, Mr. Del Villar loves his wife, his children, and his incredibly strong circle of family and friends that have given unwavering support.”

According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Del Villar and Del Entertainment willfully did business with Pérez, “by continuing to have a Del Entertainment musical artist perform at concerts in which Pérez and Del Entertainment had a financial interest.”

“The defendants here chose to get into business with an individual they knew had ties to the CJNG and had been designated a narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act,” said acting U.S. Atty. Joseph McNally. “Cartels and transnational criminal organizations cause immeasurable harm to our country. We are using every tool to eliminate these organizations and will prosecute those that do business with cartels.”

During the trial, Goldberg, Del Villar’s attorney, told the jury that her client, an immigrant from Mexico, had “accomplished the American dream.” She said he had a passion for Mexican regional music, the music of his childhood, and started his record label two decades ago.

The trouble, authorities said, began in 2018.

Ortiz, one of Del Records’ artists, had been scheduled to perform at a concert organized by Pérez in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico, when the promoter was sanctioned, FBI Special Agent Lauren Radke wrote in an affidavit filed in court.

Del Villar’s employees drafted a news release at the time, stating the company had “no choice” but to “obey U.S. law and not allow the bookings of any of my shows to individuals the Dept. of Treasury has deemed sanctioned.”

The news release was never distributed, but agents used a search warrant to obtain the draft a year later, Radke wrote. That news release came up repeatedly throughout the trial.

Radke and other agents met with Ortiz at an airport in Phoenix, where they handed the singer a letter from the Treasury Department and told him he was prohibited from doing business with Pérez.

Later that day, Del Records’ chief financial officer, Luca Scalisi, left a voice message with an employee of the record label. Scalisi said Del Villar wanted the chief financial officer to go to Mexico to collect a debt that Pérez owed to a Mexican company affiliated with Del Villar, Radke wrote.

Scalisi said he was concerned about creating a “paper trail” leading to Pérez because the concert promoter was “under surveillance,” Radke wrote.

Authorities have also charged Scalisi, 58, with violating the Kingpin Act. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is scheduled for July.

Ortiz ultimately did perform at the concert Perez staged in Aguascalientes, Radke wrote. Del Villar’s credit card was used to pay for a private jet that transported Ortiz from Van Nuys Airport to the performance in Aguascalientes, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

On multiple other occasions in 2018 and 2019, authorities said Pérez and Del Villar continued to do business by arranging for Ortiz to perform at concerts in Mexico.

The “Para Qué Lastimarme” singer admitted in court that he performed at the 2018 Feria de San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico, despite already being made aware of Pérez’s status, according to Univision.

Ortiz, who was signed under Del Records from 2009 to 2019, has already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy tied to the case.

Del Villar is set to be sentenced on August 15 and faces up to 30 years in prison on each count. Del Entertainment will face a sentence of five years of probation and a fine of $10 million for each count.

Times staff writers Matthew Ormseth and Carlos De Loera contributed to this report.