Del Records’ CEO Ángel Del Villar Receives Prison Sentence
Photo via DEL Records Youtube.
Del Records’ CEO Ángel Del Villar received his sentence. On Aug. 15, Del Villar was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of violating the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. He will also pay a $2 million fine as part of his sentence.
On Mar. 27, the Department of Justice found Del Villar guilty of doing business with a concert promoter with ties to the Mexican cartels. Billboard reports Del Villar was found guilty of a total of 10 violations of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and one conspiracy charge. Per Variety, the maximum penalty was a total of 30 years in prison – however, he received four years in prison, $2 million fine as part of his sentence, and three years of supervised release. He has until Dec. 1 to surrender, per Rolling Stone. Moreover, his company, Del Entertainment, was sentenced to three years of probation and a $1.8 million fine.
“I’m very happy for the outcome,” Del Villa told Rolling Stone after receiving the sentence. “I’m at peace, and literally, I think I’ve left about 2,000 pounds of stress in there.”
Though he’s now “very happy” with the outcome, Del Villar had a different perspective following the verdict. After the verdict in March, Del Villar’s legal team released a statement with the opposite sentiment. “On behalf of Angel Del Villar, we respect the verdict that was given today, but, we strongly disagree and are disappointed by that verdict,” the statement read at the time. “This is one of those times that the criminal justice system got it wrong. This case was unique and unprecedented and it is clear that this complexity unfortunately was misunderstood. The fight continues forward in the Court, there will be a prompt appeal.”
The case started when, on June 14, 2022, Del Villar and DEL Entertainment’s CFO Luca Scalisi were charged with “conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,” as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This was due to their alleged business with a Guadalajara-based concert promoter connected to Mexican drug cartels. Mexican media outlets indicated the linkage was to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) and Los Cuinis. The Mexican music promoter in question was the now late Jesus Perez Alvear of Gallistica Diamente, aka Ticket Premier, who previously promoted DEL Entertainment in Mexico until 2019.
Del Records is currently home to artists like the emerging cumbia bélica artist Yahir Saldívar, the popular música mexicana group T3R Elemento, and many more.