She laundered $200,000 for her drug-dealing husband: federal authorities

She laundered over $200,000 from her husband's drug trafficking.

This is the statement from federal authorities about a California woman who was convicted in federal court in Boston for her involvement in a money laundering conspiracy involving the distribution of methamphetamine and marijuana throughout New England.

Authorities said the investigation resulted in the seizure of over 72 kilograms of pure methamphetamine, an AK-47, a Glock without a serial number, two loaded Smith & Wesson pistols and over 4,200 rounds of ammunition.

A marijuana plantation with hundreds of marijuana plants was also destroyed, federal authorities said.

Christina Lua, 51, of Santa Rosa, California, pleaded guilty in April to one count of a second indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit money laundering, federal authorities said.

She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by one year of probation.

Authorities said Lua was originally charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in a new indictment in September 2021 along with four others.

“The indictment charges a total of 11 defendants with a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy,” authorities said. “In addition to the money laundering conspiracy that Lua and four others are accused of, the other 10 defendants were also charged with drug and firearms violations.”

Authorities said investigators received information in 2020 about drug trafficking activities by a “large-scale methamphetamine supplier in the Boston area,” and in late 2020, Lua's husband “Reshat Alkayisi was identified as a methamphetamine wholesaler who distributed multi-pound quantities to dealers throughout the New England region.”

Authorities said Lua “helped Alkayisi launder his drug proceeds, including by using drug trafficking cash to purchase vehicles and depositing cash amounts of less than $10,000 to conceal the source of the funds and evade reporting requirements.”

Lua is the third defendant to be convicted. The remaining eight defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

The case is part of a Drug Enforcement Task Force anti-organized crime operation aimed at “identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-based, multi-agency approach.”

Originally published: August 17, 2024 at 5:45 am