IMG Academy Hit With Almost $2 Million Fine After Accepting Tuition Linked To Cartels

BRADENTON, Fla. — IMG Academy, one of the most prominent athletic prep schools in the United States, has agreed to pay $1.72 million in fines after federal authorities determined the academy accepted tuition payments tied to individuals linked to a Mexican drug cartel. The settlement was announced Feb. 12 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Bradenton-based academy entered into multiple tuition enrollment agreements between 2018 and 2022 with two parents identified on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list due to their ties to a sanctioned Mexican drug trafficking organization. As part of those agreements, IMG accepted payments — including tuition, lodging and other fees — that totalled between approximately $97,867 and $102,235 per year for each student.

OFAC’s enforcement release describes 89 separate apparent violations of U.S. counternarcotics sanctions that occurred when IMG transacted with the sanctioned individuals without conducting proper screening to determine their status. “Over five consecutive years, IMG Academy repeatedly transacted with two individuals whom OFAC sanctioned based upon their ties to a sanctioned Mexican-based drug cartel,” the agency said in its statement.

Federal officials noted that the money was received through wire transfers from third parties in Mexico and credit card payments connected to the sanctioned individuals. Those payments were credited to the students’ accounts at IMG Academy, allowing the sanctioned parties to “gain access to U.S. persons and the U.S. financial system” through the academy’s services.

IMG Academy’s status as an SDN counterparty was not identified at the time of the tuition agreements because the school lacked a sanctions compliance program during the years in question. OFAC’s enforcement release states IMG did not perform sanctioned party screening when accepting payments or enrolling the students.

In its own statement, the academy said it proactively disclosed the issue to OFAC once it became aware of the situation, and it cooperated fully with the investigation. IMG has since implemented a comprehensive sanctions compliance program to prevent future violations. “Since that isolated incident, extensive measures have been taken by IMG Academy to implement a comprehensive sanctions compliance program,” the academy said.

The institution’s cooperation and quick remedial measures were taken into account in determining the settlement amount, which OFAC described as non-egregious but serious enough to warrant the full civil monetary penalty. By OFAC’s count, the violations stemmed from dealing directly with the sanctioned individuals in connection with the tuition agreements and payment processing.

IMG Academy, which is known for developing top high school athletes and has produced more than 150 professional athletes across multiple sports in the past decade, emphasised in its statement that the incident was isolated and due to the lack of a sanctions screening process at the time.

The academy’s recruiting and enrollment model includes bringing international athletes to its Bradenton campus, where they train and compete in football, basketball, baseball and other sports while attending school. Between 2018 and 2022, the two students whose tuition triggered the sanctions violations were enrolled under agreements signed by their parents, both designated as SDNs due to their connections to narcotics trafficking.

No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the settlement, which resolves only potential civil liability under federal sanctions law. IMG Academy’s enhanced compliance procedures, including risk-based sanctions screening, are now in place as the institution moves forward.

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