On October 21, 2026 Shu Jun Zhen, 31, was sentenced to nine years in prison for money laundering $23 million at the Bank of America on Albemarle Rd. Charlotte, NC.
Shu Jun Zhen
Zhen was a prolific courier for the Chinese money laundering organizations. She collected drug trafficking proceeds from U.S. based latino drug cartels and deposited the money, using both real and fake identities, into shell company bank accounts registered by other members of money laundering entities.
As a courier, Zhen personally picked up and deposited approximately $23 million of illicit bulk cash. A photo of Zhen at a Bank of America in Concord is included in court documents, it shows her depositing $150,000. Zhen deposited more than $22 million in a period of 20 months.
Zhen deposited more than $300,000 at a Bank of America branch at 9505 Pineville-Matthews Road on July 27, 2022. On August 12, 2022, she deposited more than $100,000 at the Bank of America branch at 8551 North Tryon St.
On August 20, 2022, Zhen deposited more than $250,000 into a JP Morgan Chase branch at 8830 Lindholm Dr. in Huntersville. On November 9, 2023, Zhen deposited $100,000 into a Bank of America branch at 6425 Albemarle Road in Charlotte.
In 2024 Zhen was arrested on money laundering charges, at her luxurious residence federal agents found guns and $23 million cash.
Zhen pled guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of money laundering to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the illicit proceeds, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property greater than $10,000.
Zhen admitted that she knew the laundered funds included drug trafficking proceeds. In October 2026 Zhen was given 9 years in prison.
