BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) – IMG Academy in Bradenton has agreed to pay a $1.7 million fine for accepting tuition fees for two students whose parents are linked to Mexican drug cartels, the U.S. Treasury Department said.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the settlement in an enforcement release Feb. 12.
According to the release, two students were enrolled at the elite academic and sports training academy between 2018 and 2022.
IMG allegedly accepted tuition, lodging and other fees payments from their parents who were on a sanctions list for providing financial support to a “Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization and/or to its principal leader.”
The Treasury Department did not name the students or the parents in its release. The tuition payments were between $97,867 to $102,235 per academic year, the release said.
The acceptance of the total of 89 payments, involving wire transfers from third-part individuals in Mexico, was in apparent violation of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations, the release said.
Federal investigators said while IMG Academy informed them of the apparent violations as soon as it became aware of them, an investigation was already underway.
The Treasury Department also said IMG Academy demonstrated “reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions requirements,” for accepting payments and failing to conduct sanctions screening checks on its counterparties.
“As a result of IMG Academy’s conduct, designated individuals who provided financial support and services to a sanctioned Mexican drug cartel were able to conduct commerce with U.S. persons and gain access to the U.S. financial system,” the release said.
“This conduct allowed the children of two of the designated DTO’s (Drug Trafficking Organization) leaders to obtain elite academic and athletic training services in the United States.”
The Treasury Department did note that IMG had not run afoul of regulations in the five years before this incident; that IMG took immediate steps after they discovered the apparent violations to create a compliance program; and the ING cooperated with the investigation.
In a statement, IMG Academy says it has taken “extensive measures” to ensure compliance:
“IMG Academy is committed to maintaining the highest standards of compliance and integrity in all aspects of our operations. Between 2018 and 2022, IMG Academy did not have an OFAC sanctions compliance program in place and entered into tuition enrollment agreements and collected fees from two individuals who were unknowingly on OFAC’s SDN List. Upon becoming aware of their status, we disclosed the matter to OFAC and fully cooperated with its investigation. Since that isolated incident, extensive measures have been taken by IMG Academy to implement a comprehensive sanctions compliance program.”
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