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IMG Academy, a storied high school that has become a springboard for aspiring college and professional athletes, will pay a nearly $2 million fine after two athletes’ parents were found to have ties to a Mexican drug cartel.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced last week that the custodians of students at the Bradenton, Florida, prep school committed 89 violations of anti-drug sanctions.
“As a result of IMG Academy’s conduct, Designated Persons who provided financial support and services to a sanctioned Mexican drug cartel were able to conduct commerce with US persons and access the US financial system,” OFAC said in a statement.
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The Division II Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held at IMG Academy on May 27, 2017 in Bradenton, Florida. (Matt Marriott/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
OFAC said IMG Academy “would receive wire transfers from undesignated third-party individuals and entities, primarily located in Mexico, to its bank account at a U.S. financial institution for further credit to each student-athlete account.”
“IMG Academy would also charge payments to credit cards on file for each student-athlete,” OFAC continued. “Furthermore, when a positive year-end balance existed in one of the student-athletes’ accounts, IMG Academy would apply the amounts from one academic school year to the next to fulfill a portion of IMG Academy’s new (tuition agreements) with the respective (student’s guardian).
OFAC said IMG Academy showed “reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions requirements.”
General atmosphere during Hudson Heinemann attends National Signing Day-Division 1 Football/Quarterback for Villanova University at IMG Academy on February 5, 2025 in Bradenton, Florida. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Hudson Heinemann)
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“Minimal due diligence at any point throughout this process would have revealed that these customers were sanctioned. This failure allowed numerous violations to occur over an extended period of time,” OFAC said.
“While IMG may have lacked actual knowledge that the individuals with whom it dealt were sanctioned, IMG Academy had actual knowledge of the underlying transactions that gave rise to the apparent violations. IMG Academy entered into annual tuition enrollment agreements directly with the SDNs, billed the SDNs by name, and routinely communicated payment obligations or payment processes with each payment obligation. refunds to each respective student-athlete account.”
IMG said in a statement that it was “cooperating fully” with OFAC’s investigation after it became aware of the guards’ status.
Bradenton’s IMG Academy settled a $1.7 million lawsuit from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control that said IMG provided services to children of Mexican drug cartels. (James A. Jones Jr./Bradenton Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Since the isolated incident, extensive measures have been taken by IMG Academy to implement a comprehensive sanctions compliance program,” the school said via The Athletic.
Notable alumni include JJ McCarthy, Evan Neal, Carnell Tate, Bo Scarbrough, Jonathan Isaac and Nelly Korda, among dozens of other professional athletes.
