An ongoing investigation into illegal money transactions involving China and the U.S. has netted two more criminals. Fan Wang has pleaded guilty to their involvement in the sham operations, which included the facilitation of the exchange of Chinese yuan by high rollers visiting Las Vegas-area casinos. His next stop will be a visit to a courtroom so a judge can provide sentencing, which is expected to occur in late January 2021.

Since Chinese law doesn’t allow anyone to convert more than $50,000 yuan to U.S. dollars, gamblers needed a workaround in order to hit the Vegas casino scene with large stacks of cash. Seizing the entrepreneurial opportunity, Wang is said to have been working with unnamed casino hosts to be put in contact with the individuals, for whom he would provide money exchange services. Upon transferring yuan to his Chinese bank account electronically, he would give them the dollars they needed to hit the casino floors. 

Several law enforcement departments, as well as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), have been investigating similar activity for the past several years, and Wang is just the latest to be popped. He acknowledged his participation to the courts yesterday and pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and has to forfeit $225,000 as a result of the plea agreement. It isn’t clear how much money he may have laundered, or how much he earned in the process. 

States U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer, “As this series of guilty pleas makes abundantly clear, individuals facilitating the illegal transfer of money to and from China will be held accountable. The security of our banking system depends on it.”