CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three men, including Maoxuan Xia of China, pleaded guilty in Charlotte’s federal court to laundering millions in drug trafficking proceeds through suburban bank branches, as part of a $92 million international scheme.
Federal prosecutors say Xia, 29, handled over $30 million in illicit funds alone between 2020 and 2022. Along with co-defendants Zhou Yu, 42, also from China, and Shao Neng Lin, 58, of Baldwin Park, California, the trio moved more than $700,000 through Charlotte-area bank branches.
Court documents show the men knowingly participated in the criminal operation, which prosecutors say was part of a broader Chinese money laundering organization with ties to drug cartels. The trio used fake identities and shell companies to obscure the source of the funds.
Xia was caught depositing over $300,000 into a Bank of America near Carolina Place Mall using a fraudulent New York driver’s license. His co-defendants conducted similar transactions at a Chase Bank in Huntersville.
Authorities say these funds originated from illegal narcotics sales, though the specific drugs were not identified in court filings. The U.S. Treasury has noted that such schemes often involve moving proceeds across borders—typically from the U.S. to Mexico—while bypassing currency control laws.
All three men entered guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Sentencing dates have not been announced.
