No more planes, personal zoos, or tiny trains for convicted cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman if the feds have their way.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn Friday said they are seeking to seize over $12 billion in assets from the onetime leader of the Sinaloa Cartel following his February drug-trafficking conviction.
In total, the government wants to collect $12,666,191,704.00 from the runty drug lord and his empire, according to new court papers filed in Brooklyn federal court.
Multiple witnesses testified during his 11-week trial that the now-62-year-old once lived opulently — enjoying a fleet of planes, gold-plated, jewel-encrusted guns, and even had his own zoo equipped with a little train to ferry him around the enclosures.
But the wealth dried up as the years passed, and prosecutors now don’t have to prove Guzman has the cash on hand in order to seize it, the documents explain — simply that his assets at one point amounted to the whopping sum.
“The government is entitled to the forfeiture of all property that constitutes or is derived from the defendant’s narcotics-related crimes, as well as any property that facilitated the commission of those crimes,” the filing reads.
“The government need not prove that the defendant can pay the forfeiture money judgment; it need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount it seeks is forfeitable.”
The 12-page document says prosecutors calculated the dizzying figure based on a review of drugs trafficked, drug proceeds, and Guzman’s money laundering schemes.
Guzman is facing life in prison when sentenced, which is scheduled for July 17.