A Queens woman learned her fate for laundering over $20 million in years-long drug trafficking cash through an airline ticket business where she worked as an accountant, according to authorities.
Rui Fang Yu, 40, was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for her role in a Chinese money laundering scheme that operated from 2016 to 2020, according to court records obtained by The Post and the US Department of Justice.
Yu accepted substantial sums of money from co-conspirators who were laundering criminal revenues, including heroin and cocaine sales in the United States via a Mexican cartel-linked drug trafficking operation, according to authorities.
According to investigators, she utilized her position as an accountant at a “airline ticket consolidator” in Flushing to launder the unlawful funds through her employer’s bank accounts. It is unclear who she worked for.
Yu utilized a complicated operation involving trade-based money laundering to conceal narcotics revenues through false company transactions used to purchase airline tickets, according to officials.
According to authorities, the accountant and her co-conspirators laundered the proceeds through accounts held by other co-conspirators in the United States and China.
Yu pled guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to conceal money laundering, according to federal authorities.
Her lawyer, Kelvin Wu, argued in a memo that Yu, a first-time offender and legal permanent resident of the United States from Taishan, China, should be punished to time served or probation.
Yu, a mother of two who also cares for her elderly parents, has “expressed deep regret throughout this case,” and was motivated to participate in the laundering scheme by financial troubles, according to her attorney.
“Her financial problems worsened following the birth of her second kid. She felt stressed as her bills increased and her working hours decreased, according to the memo.
“In that state of vulnerability, she made the worst decision of her life. She consented to deposit funds for others, convincing herself it was a simple favor related to business activities,” Wu wrote.
“She had no authority over the money, directed no one, and received only meager compensation for her services. She now recognizes how bad it was and accepts responsibility for not saying no.”
Yu now faces losing her green card and being deported to China, according to the document.
“Ms. Yu accepted responsibility for her actions, and the Court carefully considered all relevant considerations before imposing the punishment. “Our focus is now on assisting her family during this difficult time,” Wu, her lawyer, said in a statement.
Authorities stated the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI were investigating the matter.
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