The Southern District of Ohio Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced on January 9th that a key member of a Chinese money laundering network has been indicted for allegedly laundering tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from drug crimes.
41-year-old Lin Yan, who resides in California, appeared in court in Cincinnati on January 8th, facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and concealing money laundering activities. He was indicted in November 2025, and if convicted, Lin Yan could face up to 20 years in prison.
According to court documents submitted by the prosecution, Lin Yan, a Chinese citizen with American citizenship, is suspected of working for drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, including the notorious Sinaloa cartel, from March 2022 to October 2024. He is accused of laundering tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds from the trafficking organizations in several U.S. cities, including Tulsa, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, involving drugs such as fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and transferring them back to Mexico through money laundering schemes.
Prosecutors stated that Lin Yan and his associates, some of whom are located in China, exchanged large amounts of cash from drug sales for electronic products like phones, tablets, and laptops, which were then shipped to associates in China and Hong Kong. Upon confirming receipt of substantial cash, drug traffickers in Mexico would receive payments in pesos or dollars locally (minus the commission).
The detention motion in the case indicated that Lin Yan was the core money-laundering operator for the Mexican drug trafficking cartel. One money laundering ledger showed that in 2024 alone, Lin delivered around $27.4 million across the United States. Prosecutors alleged that he earned over $1 million in commissions from these transactions.
In the Southern District of Ohio, Lin Yan arranged for over forty withdrawals totaling approximately $3.8 million. In September 2024, he was asked to coordinate the collection of $270,000 in drug proceeds in Los Angeles.
Court documents revealed that during his two-year stint working for the Mexican drug cartel, Lin Yan traveled frequently between Mexico, Asia, Europe, and South America. In other words, he possessed significant financial resources and extensive experience to evade U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Lin Yan is also accused of using multiple phone numbers to execute his plans and communicating with associates using different female nicknames.
As of the deadline, Lin Yan’s lawyer has not responded to media requests for comments.
According to court documents, Lin Yan fled from Southern California to Mexico in March 2022 upon learning of the money laundering investigation against him. It wasn’t until October 14, 2024, that he was forcibly deported from Mexico to the Dominican Republic while en route from Mexico. Lin Yan was then sent back to Miami by relevant national law enforcement agencies.
Upon arriving in Florida, Lin Yan was arrested for the conspiracy to commit money laundering charges brought by the Southern District of California Federal Court. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on July 9, 2025, and has been in custody ever since.
Federal prosecutor Dom…