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Federal officers have charged a Chicago girl with laundering giant volumes of suspected narcotics proceeds after a months-long investigation linked her to money exchanges tied to Mexican drug cartels and Chinese language cryptocurrency networks, in line with a just lately unsealed federal grievance.
Homeland Safety Investigations arrested Xiao Mei of Canaryville on allegations that she coordinated a sequence of enormous money exchanges in Chinatown and River North between February and July 2024. Prosecutors stated Mei, described as a Chicago-based dealer for a Chinese language money-laundering community, recurrently used WeChat to rearrange pickups of bulk U.S. forex from associates of drug traffickers and transferred equal sums to China via cryptocurrency and “mirror transactions.”
Investigators stated Mei’s alleged exercise suits right into a broader system utilized by Mexico-based cash laundering and drug trafficking organizations, or MLDTOs, to hide drug proceeds.
Usually, these teams buy South American cocaine that’s shipped via Mexico and smuggled into the US, the feds stated. In addition they develop, domesticate, cook dinner, and course of heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana in Mexico, then transfer the medication north for resale. The sale of those managed substances generates huge money earnings that the cartels should transfer out of the US and again into their very own networks.
In accordance with the federal grievance, a legislation enforcement supply instructed investigators that Mei contacted them nearly day by day to deal with giant money transactions, typically expressing reluctance to fulfill “foreigners” alone. In accordance with federal brokers, Mei used the time period “foreigner” to confer with anybody who was not Chinese language.
In a single change, the grievance says, Mei accepted a black bag containing about $40,000 from two folks in a white car, then delivered the money later that evening to an affiliate close to East Erie Avenue and North Wabash Avenue in River North. That affiliate allegedly transferred the equal quantity to a Chinese language checking account at Mei’s course.
Subsequent monitored transactions detailed within the affidavit embrace a March 5 switch of $50,000, an April 5 pickup of $100,000, and extra deliveries of $36,000 and $51,500 in Might. In every case, brokers say, Mei used WeChat to coordinate conferences in and round Chinatown, present cryptocurrency pockets codes, and direct conversions into Chinese language forex or digital property reminiscent of Tether. Investigators stated a number of money deliveries examined optimistic for narcotic residue throughout Ok-9 inspections.
The investigation culminated on July 15, 2024, when legislation enforcement stopped Mei’s white Porsche after she allegedly deliberate one other $80,000 switch. Officers discovered money inside a white fanny pack, together with two cell telephones, and a Ok-9 unit once more alerted to drug odors, the grievance stated. Mei declined to make any statements to investigators following her detention.
In accordance with the affidavit, a person recognized as “B,” who was seen handing Mei money in February 2024, later admitted to performing as a courier for a Mexican “boss” and stated they have been paid $750 per supply to maneuver drug proceeds between Latin and Chinese language intermediaries. The cooperating witness within the case was compensated for aiding legislation enforcement and had no legal historical past, the doc famous.
Prosecutors charged Mei with cash laundering and working an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise.
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