Hanover Park man admits to money laundering, gets 6 years

A Hanover Park man who pleaded guilty to money laundering has been sentenced to six years in prison, officials announced Friday.

Michael A. Venegas, 24, was first investigated in April 2021 after investigators executed a search warrant on his home on the 1600 block of Dogwood Lane in Hanover Park and found evidence of drug dealing and extensive money laundering, according to a news release from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

The investigation uncovered multiple large cash deposits into a bank account, a stock account with more than $1.6 million, and evidence of “chip walking,” the release stated. Chip walking involves a person taking large amounts of cash into a casino, then cashing out their chips after playing for a short time.

Venegas and his co-defendant, Hugh Collins, also were charged by Raoul in 2022 after an investigation by the Illinois State Police’s North Central Narcotics Task Force uncovered Venegas selling cannabis and other controlled substances via Snapchat throughout the northwest suburbs, according to the release.