Ángel del Villar‘s criminal trial case could set a precedent in Latin music. The CEO of regional Mexican powerhouse label, Del Records, is accused of doing business with a concert promoter linked to Mexican drug cartels.
Del Villar’s ongoing trial began on March 18 at a downtown Los Angeles federal courtroom and follows a 2022 criminal complaint that charged Del Villar, among other defendants, with conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Passed in 1999, the Kingpin Act allows the U.S. to impose targeted sanctions on foreign individuals involved in the illegal drug trade and ban U.S. residents from doing business with them.
In their opening statements, Del Villar’s lawyers argued that the West Coast-based executive had been “manipulated” by a former Del Records employee who “convinced” him that what the company was doing was “legally acceptable,” according to reporting by Rolling Stone.
“There is something deeply wrong and manipulative about how this case was created and investigated,” Del Villar’s defense lawyer Marissa Goldberg said. “The ones who actually created this crime, who manufactured it, are not sitting as defendants, which is even more deeply wrong.”
A key moment during the trial so far was when corridos star Gerardo Ortiz took the stand on March 19 to testify against Del Villar. Ortiz had already pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge of doing business with the concert promoter, Jesus “Chucho” Pérez Alvear, linked to the case.
The U.S. Treasury Department added Perez to the sanctions list in 2018, claiming he and his company had helped cartels “exploit the Mexican music industry to launder drug proceeds and glorify their criminal activities.” Ortiz — previously signed to Del Records and managed by Del Villar — testified that he had performed at Feria de San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico in April 2018, promoted by Pérez Alvear, even after he had already been designated under the Kingpin Act, which is why he had also been charged in the case.
Del Villar founded Del Records in 2008 and the label has since fueled the música mexicana movement. If convicted of violating the law, Del Villar would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Below, a timeline of Del Villar’s legal saga:
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May 22, 2020
FBI agents arrived at Del Records’ headquarters in Bell Gardens, Calif., in May 2020, where a federal search warrant was executed. “The FBI executed multiple search warrants today, one of the locations was Del Records,” FBI media coordinator/spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement. A search warrant is typically conducted early on in an ongoing investigation based on allegations of criminal activity, Eimiller added. No arrest warrants had been issued at the time.
In response to the search warrant, DEL Records said in a statement that the FBI “took a number of materials that we understand relate to the FBI’s investigation of our former artist, Gerardo Ortiz. To the best of our knowledge, Del Records is not a subject, but merely a source of information for the FBI’s investigation into Mr. Ortiz. We have cooperated fully with the FBI and will continue to do so.”
Meanwhile, Ortiz, who signed to Del Records in 2009 and parted ways with the company in 2019 amid an ongoing contract dispute, said the following about the search warrant:
“Today we learned the offices of Del Records and Del Entertainment Inc. were searched by the FBI, as well as the home of its owner, Jose Ángel Del Villar, pursuant to a federally issued search warrant. Gerardo Ortiz currently has a lawsuit pending before the Los Angeles Superior Court and the California Labor Commissioner against the Del companies for alleged fraudulent conduct, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and violation of the Talent Agencies Act for swindling Mr. Ortiz out of many tens of millions of dollars. To our knowledge the search by the FBI at Del Records office and Mr. Del Villar’s home does not involve Mr. Ortiz.”
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June 14, 2022
Two years after the federal search warrant took place at the Del Records headquarters in California, Del Villar was arrested by FBI agents and was charged with “conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,” according to an official statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Luca Scalisi, CFO of DEL Entertainment, was also arrested.
According to the U.S. Attorney, Del Villar and Scalisi were charged for “conducting business with a Guadalajara-based concert promoter with ties to Mexican drug cartels.” A third defendant named in the complaint is Mexican music promoter Jesus “Chucho” Pérez Alvear, who then was leading Gallistica Diamente (Ticket Premier), and until March 2019 promoted concerts in Mexico for DEL Entertainment. Pérez Alvear was killed in Mexico in 2024.
Perez and Gallistica Diamante are listed as “Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers” under the Kingpin Act, “which prevents people in the United States from conducting business with the two entities,” according the information released by the Department of Justice.
Del Villar and Scalisi made appearances at the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles on June 14, where Del Villar was ordered released on $100,000 bond and Scalisi was ordered released on $35,000 bond.
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June 14, 2024
Del Villar, two years after he was charged with violating a federal law that bars U.S. residents from doing business with known drug traffickers, asked a federal judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that the indictment is unfairly vague and the sign of an eventual “sucker punch” by prosecutors. Del Villar’s attorneys say the indictment failed to clearly state what aspects of that federal law he allegedly violated, leaving him unable to properly prepare a defense. But prosecutors claim that he repeatedly arranged concerts promoter Pérez Alvear, who the U.S. Treasury Department had added to the sanctions list in 2018.
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March 18, 2025
After the case was pushed back numerous times, Del Villar’s criminal trial began with opening statements at a Los Angeles federal courtroom on March 18. His lawyers argued that he was allegedly “manipulated” by former Del Records employee Brian Gutiérrez, who “convinced” him that “everything” the company was doing was “legally acceptable,” according to reports by Rolling Stone.
The trial follows a 2022 criminal complaint that charged Del Villar, among other defendants, with conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Passed in 1999, the Kingpin Act allows the U.S. to impose targeted sanctions on foreign individuals involved in the illegal drug trade and ban U.S. residents from doing business with them. If convicted of violating the law, Del Villar would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
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March 19, 2025
Gerardo Ortiz took the stand on Wednesday (March 19) to testify against Del Villar. Ortiz had previously pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge of doing business with the concert promoter linked to the case, according to prosecutors.
According to the 2022 criminal complaint, on April 19, 2018, FBI agents approached Ortiz in Phoenix to inform him about Pérez Alvear’s designation under the Kingpin Act. Mexican concert promoter Pérez Alvear ran a company called Gallistica Diamente (Ticket Premier) and until March 2019, promoted concerts in Mexico for DEL Entertainment.
Ortiz told the jury he saw Pérez Alvear with Del Villar at the Del Records office in Los Angeles two or three times, according to Univision Noticias. He added that Pérez Alvear was at the office to hire bands and artists to perform at his shows in Mexico. Ortiz also went on to testify that he had performed at Feria de San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico in April 2018, promoted by Pérez Alvear, even after he had already been designated under the Kingpin Act.
Ortiz’s attorney Mark Werksman sent Billboard a statement emphasizing that Ortiz did not specifically plead guilty “to conspiring with or doing business with Mexican drug cartels, nor is he cooperating against the cartels. Mr. Ortiz is a witness in this trial, and he has testified truthfully about performing at concerts in Mexico on behalf of promoters whom the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has banned Americans from doing business with.”
