Spouse of convicted narcotics dealer sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for money laundering conspiracy

Date: Jan. 12, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Orlando, FL - U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Island Thi Truong (Orlando) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The court also ordered Truong to forfeit two real properties and two luxury watches, all of which were purchased with proceeds of drug distribution activities and were used to conceal the origin of those funds. Truong pleaded guilty in August 2025.

According to the plea agreement, Truong conspired with her husband, George Pherai-Bogeajis, to launder the proceeds of his drug distribution activities. Pherai-Bogeajis was separately convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams of methamphetamine, for which he was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months' imprisonment. Truong helped Pherai-Bogeajis conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars of illicit drug proceeds by making extensive cash deposits, using a fake tax services company through which drug proceeds were laundered, and using third-party nominees to write checks in exchange for cash. In turn, Truong used the concealed proceeds to fund luxury vacations and purchase expensive jewelry, including an 18-karat yellow gold Rolex wristwatch for approximately $44,000. In total, Truong laundered more than $750,000 in drug proceeds.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Money Laundering Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dana Hill and Risha Asokan. The asset forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.