Marco Antonio Delgado, a prominent Texas attorney and former trustee at Carnegie Mellon University, appeared in an El Paso court on Thursday to face charges that he conspired with a Mexican drug cartel to launder more than $600 million.

The Department of Homeland Security did not name the cartel he’s accused of working with, but said that he conspired to launder the money from 2007-2008.

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His biography on Carnegie Mellon University said that Delgado was on leave and working for incoming Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto, although Nieto’s aides denied any association. The school still offers a scholarship in his name.

He was arrested in El Paso on Friday, and entered a plea of not guilty the following Thursday afternoon. If convicted, he could face more than 20 years behind bars.

This video is from CNN, aired Friday, November 9, 2012.