Boston Chinese Man Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering

On April 24, Chengzou Liu, a Chinese individual, was sentenced in federal court for admitting to trafficking marijuana and using a Boston Chinatown restaurant for money laundering.

Federal Judge Indira Talwani sentenced him to 24 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. He is required to report to prison on June 5 this year.

According to the indictment, law enforcement officers found over 500 pounds of marijuana, a large quantity of Chinese cigarettes, and two guns at Chengzou Liu’s residence. He would hand over the proceeds from marijuana trafficking in US dollars to China Gourmet, a restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown, which would then transfer the equivalent amount in Chinese Renminbi to bank accounts in mainland China. The owner of the restaurant and seven other individuals, including Liu, were charged with illegal money laundering.

During the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor described Liu’s actions as follows: “Mr. Liu was not the creator of this money laundering network, but he utilized it.”

The prosecution requested a sentence of 30 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for Liu. In contrast, the defense attorney requested leniency, asking for home confinement and probation for Liu to care for his family.

In delivering the final judgment, Judge Talwani mentioned her reasons for the sentence. Firstly, Chengzou Liu had “trafficked a significant amount of marijuana over a considerable period.” He could have applied for a legal marijuana sales license, but instead chose to transport large quantities illegally. Secondly, despite Liu having no prior criminal history, in similar cases nationwide, the majority of offenders have been sentenced to prison terms.

During Liu’s sentencing hearing, the prosecutor mentioned that China Gourmet was allegedly involved in various money laundering activities, with Liu’s funds being only one aspect of it.

As per court records, at the time of Chengzou Liu’s sentencing, the other 7 suspects in this case had pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial on November 4 this year.

This 101-page money laundering indictment involves elements such as money laundering in Chinatown restaurants, unlicensed remittances, cigarette smuggling, out-of-state marijuana cultivation, drug trafficking, theft of gift cards for the sale of Apple phones, fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds, and transactions involving shell companies. The prosecution initiated lawsuits against the suspects in July 2022.

Apart from Liu, the other defendants in this case included the then 48-year-old Shi Rong Zhang, 47-year-old Qiu Mei Zeng, 32-year-old Vincent Feng, 30-year-old Da Zeng, 58-year-old Wei Qing Zeng, 45-year-old Xian Rong Zeng, and 59-year-old Qiu Fang Zeng.

The prosecution alleged that the suspects were involved in charging fees for laundering money on behalf of others. In Chengzou Liu’s case, they used restaurant revenues as a cover for laundering illicit funds, then sold the converted US dollars at a lower rate to individuals in need of exchange services. Through intricate means, they circumvented reporting regulations in the US and remittance restrictions in China.