A Quincy man pleaded guilty to being involved in a “sophisticated” international money laundering and drug trafficking organization in federal court on Tuesday, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Licheng Huang, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
In May 2023, Huang was among a dozen people from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and California charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged involvement in a crime organization led by Staten Island resident Jin Hua Zhang, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. The investigation revealed that Zhang laundered cash in bulk for a fee for drug dealers and other illegal businesses.
In less than a year, Zhang and his organization laundered at least $25 million through undercover agents, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Law enforcement became aware of Zhang and his organization through Huang, who told undercover agents that Zhang had large amounts of drug profits to launder.
Huang and Zhang moved to convert cash into cryptocurrency, which could be more easily transmitted to other countries without being detected by law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. On two occasions in August 2021, Huang worked with other co-conspirators to deliver over $60,000 in cash to the undercover agents, which were then converted to Tether — a type of cryptocurrency — and transferred to Zhang, who took out a fee in exchange for the money conversion.
Law enforcement eventually traced funds from Zhang’s organization to China, India, Cambodia, Brazil and other locations, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. At the end of their investigation, they seized cash and cryptocurrency in accounts tied to Zhang, and he pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme in September 2023.
Huang is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount involved — whichever is greater.
