YOUNGSTOWN - A federal indictment unsealed Monday accuses a member of an alleged drug trafficking ring of using a 717 Credit Union branch to launder proceeds from illegal narcotics sales.

Prosecutors say Syncere Bishop, one of five defendants named in the case, conducted financial transactions designed to hide the source of drug money. The government specifically alleges that Bishop visited the credit union to exchange small-denomination bills for larger ones.

Court documents detail two specific instances of money laundering activity. Investigators say Bishop exchanged $8,740 on Aug. 21, 2023, and another $4,000 on Feb. 26, 2024.

The indictment also charges Bishop with structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements. On March 28, 2023, Bishop allegedly made five separate withdrawals totaling $34,000 over a span of five hours. These withdrawals ranged from $1,500 to $10,000, which prosecutors argued were done to avoid triggering the mandatory reports banks must file for transactions over $10,000.

These financial crimes are part of an alleged broader conspiracy involving the distribution of fentanyl and cocaine across Northeast Ohio. The indictment alleges Bishop worked alongside Cesar Santiago-Espada, Alijaha Scott, Andrew Thomas, and Bryan Rodriguez-Perez to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and 5 kilograms of cocaine between April 2022 and August 2024.

Authorities arrested Santiago-Espada, Thomas, and Rodriguez-Perez on Monday. They entered not guilty pleas during their arraignments in Youngstown and remain in federal custody.