Federico “Fred” Machado, Argentine businessman indicated by the United States justice in a Megacause that mixes financial fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking, tries to defend himself from Patagonia. Far from Miami or Texas, today he remains in his mother’s house in Viedma, Río Negro, while on him weigh judicial orders and accusations that place him in the center of a multimillionaire scheme.
According to the Federal Prosecutor of the Eastern District of Texas, Machado was a member of Debra Lynn Mercer-Erwin-1623 to 16 years in prison-in a business that was presented as a fiduciary for the registration of foreigners of foreigners in the US Cover previous debts: a classic Ponzi scheme. In addition, several of the linked aircraft ended up seized with cocaine cargoes.
In total, prosecutors place it as a receiver of more than 75 million dollars of that structure, and indicate it as a fundamental gear in a network that used airplanes for illicit operations.
Machado, however, denies a drug dealer. In an interview with the journalist Tanya Eiserer, of the Texana WFAA chain, he defended himself with phrases that sought to clarify his role:
– “They portray me as if they were talking to El Chapo.”
– “I am not a saint. I made mistakes, but I am not a drug trafficker.”
He also said he is not a criminal, but rather a victim of the system and the irregularities committed by Mercer-Erwin, whom he defined as the true operator of the financial framework. According to his version, he would have only been “a client” caught in the maelstrom. The American justice, on the other hand, ensures that there are documents, transfers and contracts that directly incriminate it. Machado met José Luis Espert on more than one occasion, according to the journalist Sebastián Lacunza, and also transferred at least 200 thousand dollars.
