Grand jury indicts 3 U.S. citizens, 22 Chinese nationals, 4 Chinese pharmaceutical companies in international drug trafficking, money laundering conspiracies

CINCINNATI - FBI Director Kash Patel, United States Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II, FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola and DEA Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Lawton announced today that a federal grand jury in Dayton returned charges against dozens of defendants, including Chinese nationals and companies, in narcotics and money laundering conspiracies involving illegal cutting agents.

"Protecting Americans from fentanyl is one of this Department's most important missions - and it starts with dismantling the international pipelines that bring deadly drugs and precursor to our shores," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "We will not rest until we stop Chinese companies from shipping poison to our citizens and bring everyone involved in this lethal trade to swift, complete justice."

"Our indictment alleges that Chinese companies and affiliated foreign nationals intentionally and openly marketed, delivered, and exported to the United States controlled substances and other compounds that they knew would be used by domestic drug dealers to increase the yield and potency of fentanyl distributed in this country," said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. "As explained in court documents, these deadly drug mixtures were then sold directly into our communities here in southern Ohio."

"Today's announcement marks a first-of-its-kind international operation for the FBI targeting the fentanyl plague that has killed tens of thousands of Americans and indicting the companies and individuals in mainland China that manufacture the precursor chemicals fueling the destruction of our communities," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "This operation has already seized enough fentanyl powder to kill 70 million Americans and enough fentanyl pills to kill another 270,000. And we have now indicted the Chinese precursor companies and exposed the funding streams that facilitate this deadly trade."

"The FBI is using an aggressive investigative strategy to target businesses in China which are sending lethal drugs to the streets of our cities," stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. "The FBI will continue to relentlessly pursue these companies and drug distributors as we work to crush violent crime and keep people safe from the dangers of illicit narcotics."

According to charging documents, from at least 2022 until present, Eric Michael Payne, 39, of Tipp City, Ohio, served as a main supplier of illegal cutting agents to fentanyl traffickers operating in southern Ohio. Payne allegedly purchased several kilogram shipments of the cutting agents from multiple Chinese companies purporting to be online pharmacies and legitimate chemical companies.

It is believed that the U.S. defendants purchased from the Chinese companies at least 10 kilograms of fentanyl cutting agents, which, in turn, could yield more than 150 kilograms of fentanyl mixture bound for street-level sales in southern Ohio. The cutting agents included animal tranquilizers up to 200 times more powerful than morphine.

The companies allegedly used a series of Chinese foreign nationals located overseas to solicit, negotiate, and secure payments for illegal cutting agents from U.S. customers. It is alleged the foreign nationals generally directed U.S. customers to pay for the cutting agents using cryptocurrency transferred to crypto wallets under the foreign national's control for ultimate deposit into financial institutions located overseas.

Payne's significant other, Auriyon Tresan Rayford, 24, also of Tipp City, Ohio, and Ciandrea Bryne Davis, 39, of Atlanta, allegedly assisted Payne in transferring more than $60,000 in cryptocurrency to Chinese foreign nationals associated with the Chinese companies since 2022. Rayford also allegedly allowed illegal substances to be stored at her residence in Ohio.

All the defendants are charged with conspiring with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl mixture and conspiring to launder money internationally. Payne is also charged with possessing with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl mixture and tampering with evidence. Rayford is charged with maintaining a drug-involved premises.

The Chinese companies and nationals charged include:

• Guangzhou Tengyue Chemical Company, Ltd.,
• Guanghzou Wanjiang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.,
• Hebei Hongjun New Material Technology Co., Ltd.,
• Hebei Feilaimi Technology Co., Ltd.,
• Lihui Zhao,
• FNU LNU a/k/a "Anna Sofia,"
• Shanhong Jiang,
• Yan Yang,
• Fengdi Zhang,
• Dehui Xia,
• Xing Wu Chen,
• Qing Lin Wang,
• Xiaojun Huang,
• Meixiang Yao,
• Zhanpeng Huang,
• Yuqing Feng,
• Dongjing Sun,
• Chengqi Nong,
• Tiduo Wei,
• Zhisong Nie,
• Jichao Zhu,
• Zhengzhe Yin,
• Changgen Du,
• Hongfei Wang,
• Huatao Yao, and
• Xuening Gao.

Concurrent with the charges brought against this network, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today has imposed sanctions on one of these Chinese companies, Guangzhou Tengyue, and two of its representatives, Zhanpeng Huang and Xiaojun Huang, targeting them pursuant to Treasury's counternarcotics authorities.

Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi and Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth McCormick are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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