A federal judge in Chicago has sentenced a Chinese national to 10 years in prison for laundering $62 million in drug proceeds for Mexican drug traffickers, marking a significant crackdown on an international money laundering operation.
Haiping Pan, 44, conspired with others between 2016 and 2018 to funnel up to $3 million per month in drug profits through covert operations across the United States, China, and Mexico. Utilizing secretive cash pickups in cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, Pan orchestrated complex currency exchanges that ultimately sent the illicit funds back to traffickers in Mexico.
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U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman handed down the sentence on Thursday, describing the scale of the operation as “astonishing.” Pan, who was living in Guadalajara, Mexico, during the conspiracy, was arrested there and extradited to the United States in 2022.
The investigation revealed that Pan and his co-conspirators conducted one to two pickups per week, moving amounts ranging from $150,000 to $1 million per transaction. By leveraging his international financial expertise and connections to cartel associates, Pan facilitated the flow of drug proceeds through businesses and banks worldwide.
“The defendant was a significant part of a recent phenomenon in which a relatively small network of Chinese money brokers based in Mexico have come to dominate international money laundering markets,” federal prosecutors stated in their sentencing memorandum. “Defendant’s crimes allowed his drug trafficking clients to secure the fruits of their pernicious trade faster, cheaper, and more securely than ever before.”
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The investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago, has resulted in multiple convictions. Two of Pan’s co-conspirators, Xianbing Gan and Huanxin Long, were previously sentenced to 14 years and 5.5 years in prison, respectively.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Morris Pasqual commended the collaborative effort that dismantled the laundering network. “This sentencing sends a clear message: those who enable drug trafficking through sophisticated financial schemes will be held accountable,” Pasqual said.
Special Agent-in-Charge Sean Fitzgerald of HSI Chicago underscored the case’s significance. “This operation highlights the growing threat of transnational crime networks and their use of financial systems to evade law enforcement. We will continue to target individuals who exploit these systems to fuel drug trade.”
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