Two men have been sentenced for their part in a scheme to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars internationally.
According to a Justice Department report on the case, Li Pei Tan of Georgia and Chaojie Chen, 41, a Chinese national residing in Chicago, were the pair at the heart of the international monetary fraud.
It was alleged that they were the go-to people to launder tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds on behalf of foreign drug trafficking organizations.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, is investigating the case with assistance from the DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit and DEA offices in multiple states.
Pair prosecuted for international money laundering
The report prepared by the Justice Department stated that “Tan, Chen, and their co-conspirators traveled throughout the United States to collect proceeds derived from trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs. They communicated and coordinated with co-conspirators in China and other foreign countries to arrange for the laundering of these proceeds.”
They did so through concealed financial transactions through a “trade-based money laundering” scheme that mocked the process of buying bulk electronics from stores in the United States and shipping these illicitly bought items to co-conspirators in China.
Local law enforcement reportedly seized cash drug proceeds from Chen at locations across the United States. Additionally, Tan was intercepted by law enforcement in “South Carolina while attempting to transport over $197,000 in drug proceeds.”
Both men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and will forfeit numerous assets to the United States and DEA.
These include, but are not limited to, $23 million in monetary penalties, $270,000 in seized currency, and a host of items such as a firearm, body armor, and a residence owned by one of the accused.
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