Date: August 10, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov DETROIT — A federal jury in Detroit found two California residents guilty yesterday of conspiring to launder money, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today. Ison was joined in the announcement by Charles E. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI), Detroit Field Office, and Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration. Convicted were Teeauna White and Robin Herndon. The four-week trial was conducted before United States District Judge Terrence Berg. White and Herndon, both of California, participated in a money laundering conspiracy that was led by convicted drug trafficker Maurice McCoy. McCoy was sentenced in March 2023 to 22 years after pleading guilty to drug and money laundering conspiracies. Evidence presented during the trial established that McCoy kept distribution hubs in multiple cities across the U.S., including Novi, Michigan where the organization stored more than 30 kilograms of fentanyl and over half a million dollars that the DEA seized. At the time it was the largest fentanyl seizure in Michigan and one of the largest in the U.S. The seizure was the result of agents' creative investigative work after they traced a UPC code off a Sony PlayStation box that was used to deliver heroin to a drug customer. That UPC code led to the Novi condominium where the PlayStation was active. Agents identified couriers who crisscrossed the U.S. delivering kilograms, transporting bulk currency, or laundering money, leading to multiple arrests and additional seizures in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Baltimore, Maryland where the organization also operated. All identified couriers and large-scale drug customers who were indicted pleaded guilty. The evidence further established that White, who lived with McCoy, lived lavishly off the drug conspiracy's proceeds, purchasing a Bentley and Mercedes, expensive jewelry, and a half a million-dollar home in the greater Los Angeles area. Herndon assisted McCoy and White by opening multiple bank accounts through which money from the drug conspiracy was used to purchase McCoy and White's home. "I salute the innovative investigative work of our federal law enforcement partners at the DEA and IRS that unraveled this drug conspiracy and helped tracked down all of the individuals who profited from the conspiracy," stated U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. "We will not only seek to hold those accountable who traffic in drugs, but also those who help them hide or launder the illicit proceeds of their crimes." "The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs," said Charles Miller, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office. "Without these ill-gotten gains, the traffickers cannot finance their organizations. IRS-CI will continue to provide our financial expertise in narcotics investigations, as we work alongside the US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice." Today's announcement should serve as a clear warning to anyone who would use the cover of legitimate business to conceal proceeds derived from narcotics trafficking. Money launderers will be held to the same level of accountability as the drug traffickers they're partnering with," said Special Agent in Charge Orville. Sentencing is pending for both defendants. The investigation of the case was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement (OCDETF) Southeast Regional Strike Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea Hutting, Craig Wininger, and Gjon Juncaj prosecuted the case for the United States. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi agency approach.
