Bradenton’s IMG Academy fined $1.7M for taking tuition from Mexican drug cartel associates

BRADENTON, Fla. – IMG Academy, the world-renowned sports boarding school in Bradenton, has agreed to pay a $1.72 million fine after federal investigators discovered the school spent years taking tuition money from individuals linked to a Mexican drug cartel.

The backstory:

According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the elite academy entered into multiple tuition contracts with two “sanctioned individuals” between 2018 and 2022. These individuals were on a federal blacklist for providing financial support and services to a Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization.

The OFC said the money came from two “Specially Designated Nationals,” who are people the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned for providing financial support to a Mexican drug trafficking organization.

READ: IMG Academy soccer star to sign with professional team in Mexico

The violations included:

89 separate transactions:

Over five years, the school processed 89 separate transactions, including 83 payments via wire transfers and credit cards for the children of the sanctioned individuals.

Tuition costs:

Annual tuition for the students ranged from roughly $47,000 to over $102,000 per year.

Lack of screening:

Federal officials say IMG demonstrated “reckless disregard” by failing to run basic background checks that would have immediately flagged the parents’ names on the government’s “Specially Designated Nationals” list.

Dig deeper:

While the government noted that IMG likely didn’t have “actual knowledge” that they were dealing with a cartel, they did have direct contact with the parents via email and invoices.

The $1.7 million settlement was reached after IMG’s new leadership, which took over in 2023, cooperated with the investigation and implemented a new compliance program.

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Federal officials say this case serves as a warning to all academic institutions that they must vet the source of international tuition money.

What is IMG Academy?

IMG Academy in Bradenton offers elite academic and sports training opportunities to U.S. and international student-athletes through full-time boarding school programs, professional training programs, camps, online coaching services, and college sports recruiting resources.

IMG Academy’s student body includes athletes from all over the world, and it has recruiting offices or representatives in Mexico, China, Japan, and South Korea.