Two defendants in a federal case accusing Almansita’s Mexican Food and other fast food restaurants of money laundering filed motions this past month to dismiss the complaint and return their seized bank accounts.A bank account for Almansita’s, 2727 23rd. Ave. in Greeley, is one of 17 that were frozen by federal authorities in December as part of a drug trafficking and money laundering investigation, according to federal court filings. Other restaurants in the case include Taco Star, Viva El Taco, Monica’s Taco Shop, Albertacos Mex Food and El Potosino Foods.Albertacos owner Alvaro Davila filed a motion in January to dismiss the complaint, citing a lack of evidence of any criminal activity involving his bank accounts and legal standards not met by federal prosecutors. Hilario Montejano-Aleman, owner of Viva El Taco and Rodolfo’s Mexican Grill, joined the motion in late January. U.S. District Judge Kelly Rankin granted an extension Thursday for federal prosecutors’ response to the motions to dismiss.The original court filing from Nov. 13 has been sealed, but responding court filings suggest federal prosecutors believe Almansita’s played a role in layering – in which criminals use complex financial transactions to hide illegal sources of cash. Cejudo said in her response the restaurant has never served as a drug trafficking front, nor has it laundered money, according to federal court filings.In their motions to dismiss, Davila and Montejano-Aleman reference three “suspicious” vehicle purchases that initiated the Drug Enforcement Administration’s investigation in Cheyenne, Wyo., where Montejano-Aleman’s Rodolfo’s Mexican Grill is located. Prosecutors appear to have connected those vehicle purchases with Internal Revenue Service forms tracking cash payments of $10,000 or more. The restaurant owners assert federal prosecutors fail to show how the filing of those forms constitutes suspicious activity.Davila and Montejano-Aleman reveal in their motions to dismiss that prosecutors allege they transferred money to a bank account for Arizona-based El Potosino Foods, LLC. Prosecutors said El Potosino’s owner, Jose Aguilar, has connections to drug trafficking, according to court filings.El Potosino made more than 30 percent of its deposits in the form of cash, or cash equivalent, according to court filings. An agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration argues the industry standard is half-a-percentage point cash intensive, citing a conversation with a Denver food distribution company that serves independent Mexican fast food restaurants.”That is not a basis to conclude that every business that is in (the) Mexican fast food industry should have approximately .5 percent of its sales in cash,” Davila’s filing states. “The complaint also does not provide how exceeding the industry standard for cash intensity is nefarious or evidence of money laundering.”Davila and Montejano-Aleman argue that the complaint does not demonstrate how deposits into El Potosino’s account from accounts for Albertacos and Montejano-Aleman are crimes.Arguing the initial complaint’s allegations against the defendants are unsupported and do not show criminal activity on the part of the defendants, Davila and Montejano-Aleman have asked that the case be dismissed. Prosecutors have until Feb. 13 to file their responses. Cejudo has not filed a motion to dismiss and a representative for her attorney, Tom Fleener, did not immediately return a request for comment.– Trevor Reid covers business news for The Tribune. Connect with Trevor at treid@greeleytribune.com, (970) 392-4492 or on Twitter, @treid71.