A federal court in North Carolina sentenced Shu Jun Zhen to nine years in prison for helping move drug proceeds through a network the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says laundered more than $92 million.
The DOJ said the sentence was imposed Oct. 21 in the Western District of North Carolina. The court also ordered Zhen to forfeit nearly $23 million; the department did not give an exact amount.
The DOJ said Zhen collected proceeds from U.S.-based drug traffickers and placed them in accounts held by shell companies registered by other members of the organization. She used real and false identities. The department's Oct. 21 account said she personally picked up and deposited about $23 million in bulk cash.
The organization moved more than $92 million in illicit funds, including proceeds from illegal drugs imported into the United States, primarily through Mexico, and distributed there, the DOJ said. U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said the group moved more than $90 million in less than two years.
Zhen pleaded guilty in July 2025 to three counts: conspiracy to launder money, laundering to conceal illicit proceeds, and conducting a transaction involving criminally derived property worth more than $10,000. The DOJ said she admitted knowing some of the funds came from drug trafficking. All six people charged in the case had pleaded guilty by that July, the department said. A federal court opinion records that the indictment was returned on March 20, 2024.
The DOJ said the laundering service gave U.S.-based traffickers a way to move and conceal their proceeds, using cash deposits to mask the money's origin. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said Chinese money laundering networks help sustain the drug trade.
Jianfei Lu's case had already reached sentencing by Aug. 18, 2026. Court documents identified Lu as a manager, and the DOJ said he received a 15-year prison term and an order to forfeit $25 million.
