BRADENTON, Fla. — IMG Academy, a prominent boarding school and athletic training facility in Bradenton, Florida, has agreed to pay $1.7 million to the U.S. Treasury Department to settle potential civil liabilities stemming from violations of U.S. Counternarcotics sanctions, the Treasury announced on February 12, 2026.
The settlement resolves 89 apparent violations related to tuition payments received from two individuals sanctioned for their connections to a Mexico-based drug cartel between 2019 and 2025, according to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). IMG Academy accepted yearly tuition, lodging, and other fees ranging from $97,867 to $102,235 per academic year from the sanctioned individuals, who used wire transfers through third parties in Mexico to make the payments.
OFAC determined that IMG Academy’s conduct, while not considered egregious, demonstrated a “reckless disregard for U.S. Sanctions requirements” by failing to implement adequate sanctions screening checks on its counterparties. The agency stated that the acceptance of these payments allowed the children of leaders within the Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) to receive “elite academic and athletic training services” in the United States and facilitated commerce with sanctioned entities.
IMG Academy self-disclosed the potential violations to OFAC after becoming aware of the issue, and cooperated with the subsequent investigation. The Treasury Department noted that the school had no prior sanctions violations in the five years preceding the incident and had taken “immediate steps” to establish a comprehensive sanctions compliance program following the discovery of the issue.
In a statement released following the announcement, IMG Academy affirmed its commitment to maintaining “the highest standards of compliance and integrity.” The school stated that between 2018 and 2022, it did not have an OFAC sanctions compliance program in place and “unknowingly” accepted tuition from individuals on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. “Upon becoming aware of their status, we disclosed the matter to OFAC and fully cooperated with its investigation,” the statement read. “Since that isolated incident, extensive measures have been taken by IMG Academy to implement a comprehensive sanctions compliance program.”
According to a report by Newsdirectory3.com, one cartel leader enrolled his son at IMG Academy for studies between 2018 and 2023, culminating in the student’s graduation. The Miami Herald reported that the settlement was reached after the school allowed two students with ties to the Mexican cartel to attend.
The settlement amount of $1,720,000 reflects OFAC’s assessment that the violations were not severe and were not voluntarily disclosed by IMG Academy, as outlined in the enforcement release. The agency emphasized the importance of robust, risk-based compliance controls across all sectors, including education, to prevent sanctions violations and to prevent illicit actors from accessing the U.S. Financial system.
