On October 15, 2020, the US Department of Justice announced that it had charged six individuals, Xizhi Li, Jianxing Chen, Jiayu Chen, Eric Yong Woo, Jingyuan Li, and Tao Liu, with conspiracy to launder money, and (for several of the defendants) with drug trafficking, attempted identity fraud, and bribery.
According to the superseding indictment, the six individuals worked with traffickers and dealers in the United States, China, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, obtaining and laundering funds associated with illegal drug transactions, concealing their activities and communicating on encrypted platforms such as WeChat. The indictments resulted from a four year investigation in collaboration with law enforcement bodies in Australia, Mexico, Guatemala, and New Zealand.