A Gwinnett County man pleads guilty in a drug money laundering scheme, according to the DOJ

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Gwinnett County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to laundering millions of dollars on behalf of foreign drug trafficking organizations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

This came after a Chicago man pleaded guilty in August to his involvement in the same scheme, the DOJ said.

Li Pei Tan, 46, worked for organizations that laundered millions of dollars by importing and distributing illegal drugs into the United States, primarily through Mexico. The organizations include the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (the Jalisco Cartel), the DOJ said.

According to the Justice Department, Tan and Chaojie Chen traveled across the United States with their partners to collect money from trafficking fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs.

The Justice Department says both defendants worked with foreign partners to design financial transactions to conceal the source of funds. This included a sophisticated trade-based money laundering scheme in which electronic devices were purchased in bulk in the United States and shipped to partners in China.

Police found hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash belonging to Chen at various locations across the United States before his arrest. According to the DOJ, Tan was also stopped by police in South Carolina while attempting to transport $197,000.

As part of their pleas, Tan and Chen agreed to forfeit several assets to the government, including a residence, a gun, body armor and more than $270,000 in confiscated cash. According to the DOJ, they also agreed to forfeit a total of over $23 million.

Chen will be sentenced on November 14 and Tan on February 7, 2025. According to the DOJ, both defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

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