BOSTON – A brazen marijuana distribution ring that spanned from California to the East Coast has been busted, with two men charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday.
Virayuth Chau, a/k/a David Chau, 40, of Temecula, Calif., was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and two counts of conspiracy to launder money. Chau was arrested yesterday in Temecula, Calif.
Ratanack Oung, a/k/a Yoshi, 31, of Allentown, Penn., was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and two counts of conspiracy to launder money. Oung is a fugitive from justice.
As alleged in the indictment, beginning around January 2014, Chau and Oung shipped large quantities of marijuana from California to the East Coast of the United States. When payment for the marijuana was due, co-conspirators deposited cash (typically in an amount under $10,000) into one of many “feeder” accounts in banks on the East Coast.
The “feeder” accounts were maintained in the names of businesses or persons associated with Chau in order to disguise the nature and ownership of the drug proceeds flowing into the account. Once the money was deposited, it was either withdrawn in cash in California or transferred into a “target” account, which was an account controlled by Chau and then withdrawn.
In total, the operation is alleged to have laundered approximately $6,135,035 in drug proceeds. On Sept.14, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a series of federal and state search warrants of marijuana grow houses allegedly operated by Chau in Riverside County, Calif.
During these operations, more than 5,000 marijuana plants were seized and destroyed. Chau faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a lifetime in prison for the charge of conspiracy to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. The charge of money laundering provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Related Federal Cases
- Virayuth Chau, Marijuana Distribution and Money Laundering, California 2016 · Washington
- Ratanack Oung, Marijuana Distribution and Money Laundering, Pennsylvania 2017 · Washington
- Dwayne Sherman, Cocaine Distribution and Money Laundering, Pennsylvania 2018 · Massachusetts
- Yimmy Rafael Sanchez-Jimenez, Money Laundering, Massachusetts 2024 · North Carolina
- Seivright Donald Afflick, Money Laundering, Massachusetts 2024 · California
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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