On October 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Georgia resident Li Pei Tan pleaded guilty for his role in an international money laundering scheme in which tens of millions of dollars in illicit drug proceeds were laundered on behalf of foreign drug trafficking organizations (“DTOs”), including the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (“the Jalisco Cartel”) based in Mexico. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
According to court documents, Tan and co-conspirator Choajie Chen, a Chinese national residing in Chicago, worked for an organization that laundered millions of dollars in proceeds derived from the illegal importation and distribution of illegal drugs in the United States. Federal prosecutors allege that Tan, Chen and their co-conspirators were responsible for collecting and transporting drug proceeds from locations throughout the United States and then working with co-conspirators in China and other countries to launder the proceeds in order to disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of funds derived from unlawful activity. As part of his settlement, Tan admitted, among other things, that he used accounts in the U.S., China and Mexico to engage in financial transactions involving drug proceeds. He also admitted that he and his co-conspirators used drug proceeds to purchase bulk electronics in the United States and then shipped them overseas, including to co-conspirators in China, where they were resold as part of a trade-based money laundering scheme.
According to the DOJ, Chen pleaded guilty for his role in the same money laundering scheme on August 5, 2024. Tan and Chen each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. In separate settlements, they agreed to forfeit numerous assets derived from drug proceeds and consented to the seizure of more than $270,000 in cash. They also agreed to collectively pay more than $23 million in money judgments. Chen is currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 14, 2024, while Tan’s sentencing is currently set for February 7, 2025.
DOJ Press Release | Plea Agreement – Li Pei Tan | Tan Plea Agreement – Statement of Facts | Tan Indictment | Plea Agreement – Choajie Chen | Chen Plea Agreement – Statement of Facts| Chen Information