New York Woman Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison Over Laundering $20 Million in Drug Money

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A New York woman was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Feb. 2 for her role in laundering more than $20 million in illicit drug proceeds while working as an accountant at an airline ticket consolidator in Flushing, Queens, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Yu Rui Fang, 40, of New York City, was accused of participating in a Chinese money laundering scheme and pleaded guilty in August last year to one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.

Federal prosecutors detailed the money laundering scheme in a sentencing memorandum filed in November last year, noting that the conspiracy involved Yu and several co-conspirators—including one in New York and another in China—and operated from June 2016 to April 2020.

Yu’s employer sold discounted airline tickets to “sub-agent” travel agencies, including accounts controlled by Yu’s co-conspirators. These associates purchased tickets in bulk but often settled their account balances by delivering “bulk cash” directly to Yu, according to the sentencing memorandum.

Yu accepted large sums of cash from co-conspirators that came from the sale of controlled substances. Investigators found that a drug trafficking organization based in St. Louis, Missouri, which obtained narcotics from a Mexican cartel, made bulk-cash payments to the money laundering network Yu assisted. In one related incident, law enforcement seized more than 35 kilograms of cocaine and heroin following a meeting between Yu’s co-conspirators.

One China-based co-conspirator, identified only as “Co-Conspirator #2” by prosecutors, would coordinate with Yu to “schedule large deliveries of bulk cash” at the Flushing company where the defendant worked via Chinese social media app WeChat, according to the sentencing memorandum.

Between 2016 and 2020, about $21.8 million in cash was received at the employer’s offices to pay down these balances. Prosecutors stated that Yu personally received more than $9.1 million of those funds and deposited them into her employer’s bank accounts.

Separately, Yu agreed to receive bulk cash from individuals acting on behalf of her co-conspirators to deposit into their personal bank accounts. According to the sentencing memorandum, bank records show that between 2018 and 2019, over approximately 115 deposits, Yu made at least $11.8 million in cash and deposited it into these accounts, with a $100 fee per deposit.

“In total, the defendant is responsible for laundering $20,841,352,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors had recommended that the judge sentence Yu to 57 to 71 months’ imprisonment.

“The conspiracy in which the defendant participated launderedmore than $43 million in illicit proceeds, with much of that money representing the proceeds ofdrug sales,” prosecutors wrote.

“The defendant personally handled more than $20 million in laundered funds, representing almost half of the amounts that flowed through her co-conspirators’ accounts. In other words, the defendant’s knowing, years-long participation was crucial to the success of the conspiracy.”

Yu’s defense attorney, Kelvin King Lun Wu, asked the judge in a January sentencing memorandum to sentence his client—a mother of two and a lawful U.S. permanent resident from China—to time served or probation, without additional incarceration.

“She has expressed deep regret throughout this case,” Wu wrote about his client. “Her remorse is sincere, and her conduct since her arrest reflects someone who is determined never to make another mistake.”

In response to an email inquiry from The Epoch Times on Feb. 3, Wu said that his client “accepted responsibility for her conduct, and the Court carefully considered all relevant factors before imposing sentence.”