On October 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Shu Jun Zhen, a 31-year-old Chinese-American resident of New York, has been sentenced to 9 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit nearly $23 million for her involvement in the criminal activities of a Chinese money laundering organization, referred to as CMLO. The sentencing took place at the Western District Federal Court in North Carolina on Wednesday, October 21. According to the Department of Justice, CMLO was responsible for laundering over $92 million of illegal funds, primarily from smuggling illicit drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and selling the proceeds within the country.
Shu Jun Zhen, identified as an active member of CMLO, was tasked with collecting profits from drug dealers in the U.S. and depositing the funds into shell company bank accounts registered by other CMLO members, using both real and fake identities. The total amount of illegal cash personally collected and deposited by her into banks amounted to approximately $23 million.
In July 2025, Shu Jun Zhen pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to launder money, laundering money to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of illegal proceeds, and engaging in financial transactions involving criminal proceeds exceeding $10,000. She admitted to knowing that the laundered funds included profits from drug trafficking.
Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, A. Tysen Duva, emphasized the importance of investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in money laundering schemes like CMLO. He stated that the money laundering network is not just a minor aspect of drug trafficking but a critical component for sustaining such criminal activities. The Department of Justice’s Criminal Division is committed to disrupting every link in the drug trafficking supply chain to protect the American people as part of the Homeland Security Task Force Initiative.
Russ Ferguson, the Federal Prosecutor for the Western District of North Carolina, highlighted the ongoing efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations and dismantle support networks like the Chinese money laundering network. He underlined that despite the complexities of such cases, the Department of Justice remains a formidable force against criminal groups, no matter how sophisticated their methods may be.
Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS in Charlotte, emphasized Shu Jun Zhen’s significant role in laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal funds, aiding the criminal organization in transferring and concealing the proceeds of their illicit activities.
Shu Jun Zhen is the second defendant in CMLO to be sentenced to a lengthy prison term. In August of this year, Jianfei Lu, a Chinese citizen, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison at the Western District Federal Court in North Carolina for his involvement in the CMLO.