The final three members of a brazen Chinese money laundering crew that washed more than $90 million in drug cash — much of it from cartels moving dope through Mexico — pleaded guilty Monday in federal court, the Justice Department announced.
Two Chinese nationals — Enhua Fang, 38, and Jianfei Lu, 30 — along with Shu Jun Zhen, 36, of Staten Island, admitted to laundering tens of millions in drug profits as part of a Chinese Money Laundering Organization, or CMLO.
“These defendants laundered staggering amounts of cash to help drug traffickers hide their profits,” said prosecutors in the Justice Department press release. All six defendants named in the case have now copped pleas, authorities said.
According to court documents, Fang served as the ringleader — directing U.S.-based couriers to scoop up large bundles of dirty cash, then deposit the loot into shell companies’ bank accounts. She admitted to personally laundering at least $90 million in under two years. Fang stayed off the grid by constantly changing phone numbers and using encrypted messaging apps to talk with foreign operatives and cartel traffickers inside the U.S.
Lu, also of China, was Fang’s go-to stateside manager. He collected dope money and moved it into CMLO-controlled bank accounts using both real and phony IDs. He also helped score fake driver’s licenses for couriers and oversaw the operation while Fang was overseas. Lu admitted knowledge and involvement in laundering between $25 million and $65 million.
Zhen operated as a courier herself, picking up and depositing nearly $25 million in bulk cash under Fang and Lu’s orders. She too used fake IDs in the process, according to her plea agreement.
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All three pleaded guilty to multiple counts, including conspiracy to launder money and conducting transactions involving criminal proceeds exceeding $10,000. Fang and Zhen each face up to 20 years behind bars on the top counts, while Lu faces even more with additional charges.
Federal officials said the convictions dismantle a “particularly prolific cell” of the larger Chinese laundering network.
The bust is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a Justice Department push to crush cartels, violent crime, and transnational criminal outfits.
The case coincides with another operation under the “Operation Take Back America” umbrella that resulted in charges against seven other members of a Chinese criminal organization accused of illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.
Jianxiong Chen and six others — Yuxiong Wu, 36; Dinghui Li, 38; Dechao Ma, 35; Peng Lian Zhu, 35; Hongbin Wu, 35; and Yanrong Zhu, 47 — were indicted on conspiracy charges to manufacture and distribute marijuana. Most also face money laundering counts. Yanrong Zhu remains on the run.
Authorities say ringleader Jianxiong Chen, 39, of Braintree, Mass., smuggled Chinese nationals into the U.S., forced them to work at grow houses, and withheld their passports until they paid off their smuggling debts. He’s also charged with laundering millions in drug money and facilitating illegal immigration.
Yuxiong Wu, 36; Dinghui Li, 38; Dechao Ma, 35; Peng Lian Zhu, 35; Hongbin Wu, 35; and Yanrong Zhu, 47 — were indicted on conspiracy charges to manufacture and distribute marijuana. Most also face money laundering counts. Yanrong Zhu remains on the run.
