3 From Braintree Charged In Sweeping Money Laundering And Drug Trafficking Enterprise Bust

MASSACHUSETTS — Seven people, including three Chinese nationals living in Braintree, face charges that they ran a multi-million dollar money laundering and drug trafficking enterprise across the Northeast.

Officials charged seven people this week they said were involved in a conspiracy to cultivate and distribute marijuana across the Northeast that used interconnected grow houses concealed inside single-family properties in Massachusetts and Maine.

It is also alleged that Chinese nationals were smuggled into the United States to work in these grow houses without access to their passports until they repaid their smuggling debts.

The following people have been indicted on one count each of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, as well as additional charges listed respectively:

• Jianxiong Chen, 39, of Braintree, Mass. also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy, 11 counts of money laundering and one count of bringing aliens into the United States;
• Yuxiong Wu, 36, of Weymouth, Mass. also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy and four counts of money laundering;
• Dinghui Li, 38, of Braintree, Mass. also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering;
• Dechao Ma, 35, of Braintree, Mass. also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering;
• Peng Lian Zhu, 35, of Melrose, Mass. also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy;
• Hongbin Wu, 35, of Quincy, Mass.; and
• Yanrong Zhu, 47, of Greenfield, Mass. and Brooklyn, N.Y.

Only Yanrong Zhu remains at large.

Details of the Case

According to the charging documents, from in or about January 2020, the defendants allegedly owned, operated or partnered with a network of interconnected grow houses in Massachusetts and Maine to cultivate and distribute kilogram-sized quantities of marijuana in bulk.

Specifically, the enterprise allegedly operated grow houses in Braintree, Melrose and Greenfield, Massachusetts, among others in Massachusetts, Maine and elsewhere.

It is alleged that the grow house operators maintained contact with each other through a list of marijuana cultivators and distributors from or with ties to China in the region called the “East Coast Contact List.”

It is alleged that Chen controlled several grow houses in Maine as well as a home in Braintree, which served as a base of operations for the enterprise.

Marijuana manufactured by the interconnected grow house network, as well as bulk cash from dealers, was allegedly delivered to and redistributed by Chen at this Braintree residence. It is further alleged that co-conspirators concealed the marijuana and cash they were delivering to Chen inside the engine compartments of their vehicles.

During a search of the home in October 2024, over $270,000 in cash was allegedly recovered from the house and from a Porsche in the driveway, as well as several Chinese passports and other identification documents inside a safe.

Data extracted from Chen’s cell phone allegedly revealed that he helped smuggle Chinese nationals into the United States – putting the aliens to work at one of the grow houses he controlled while keeping possession of their passports until they repaid him for the cost associated with smuggling them into the country.

It is alleged that profits from the marijuana sales, which totaled in the millions of dollars, were used to purchase luxury homes, automobiles, jewelry and other items in Massachusetts including to expand the enterprise through the purchase of real estate.

Additional October 2024 searches of grow houses located in Braintree and Melrose where Ma and Zhu resided, respectively, allegedly resulted in the seizure of over 109 kilograms of marijuana, nearly $200,000 in cash and numerous luxury items including a gold Rolex watch with a $65,000 price tag still on it.

It is further alleged that the enterprise conducted bulk cash transactions with operators located in the Eastern District of New York. According to court documents, in June 2023, Hongbin Wu and Yanrong Zhu were stopped by law enforcement after leaving a grow house in Greenfield, during which $36,900 in cash was seized from the defendants.