SEBRING, Fla. – A Florida man recently admitted to cocaine dealing after allegedly showing dirty cash to undercover cops during a Facetime call.
Hubert Santiesteban, who had lived in Hialeah, ran his own business in Highlands County. Records show he registered Santiesteban Investment Corp. in 2013 and Fuerza Mecanica, LLC in 2022 out of a house along Avalon Road, in a quiet neighborhood in Sebring.
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Highlands County Sheriff’s Office detectives identified him as a drug dealer and set up an undercover operation last year. Detectives reported he flashed the cash that he believed he was going to use to buy 30 kilograms of cocaine and the transaction was going to be at his home.
Deputies who worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration later found nearly $420,000 in cash in a parked van at his home.
Federal prosecutors announced on Wednesday Santiesteban, 55, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and attempt to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. His sentencing with U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon is on Dec. 12. He could face life in prison.