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Millions Laundered in Drug Proceeds
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Li Pei Tan, 46, of Buford, Georgia, was arrested on no date given in Virginia for allegedly laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds.
According to court documents, Tan and Chaojie Chen, a foreign national residing in Chicago, worked for a money laundering organization that laundered millions of dollars in proceeds related to the importation of illegal drugs into the United States, primarily through Mexico, and the unlawful distribution of these drugs.
Tan and Chen allegedly traveled throughout the United States to collect proceeds derived from trafficking in fentanyl and other drugs (or to cause them to be collected). They allegedly communicated and coordinated with co-conspirators in China and other foreign countries to arrange for the laundering of these proceeds through financial transactions that were designed to conceal the illicit source of the drug proceeds.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Drug Threat Assessment, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of the fentanyl crisis in the United States. Tan and Chen are charged with conspiring to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Tan was arrested no date given in Virginia while Chaojie Chen was arrested on April 18 in Chicago. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Mary K. Daly of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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