GREENSBORO, N.C. - Six members of a marijuana distribution and money laundering organization that operated in Alamance, Guilford, and Wake Counties were sentenced on drug trafficking and money laundering charges, announced Ripley Rand, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.
As of Nov. 28, 2016, five defendants - Nilanh Chanthaphavong, Davone Chanthaphavong, Marcus Emmanuel Parrish, Phadthin Sihavong, and Vanhasy Manhvong - had been sentenced by United States District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles. A sixth defendant, Eugene Ari McAdoo, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder on Aug. 30, 2016.
According to court records, Phadthing Sihavong used the United States Postal Service to ship pounds of marijuana in overnight packages from Fresno, California, to co-conspirators in the Middle District of North Carolina. The packages were shipped with fictitious sender and receiver names and no signature was required for delivery. Once the marijuana was received in North Carolina, the co-conspirators distributed the marijuana to local customers and deposited the proceeds into a bank account in the name of Akilles Motorsports to promote the drug activity and to conceal the true nature of the proceeds. Over one million dollars was deposited into the Akilles Motorsports account between Feb. 23, 2012, and July 3, 2013. Akilles Motorsports was a business front for the money laundering organization.
"The members of this drug and money laundering conspiracy were brought to justice through effective cooperation by law enforcement," said U.S. Attorney Rand. "We are pleased to have been part of the team to stop the influx of these drugs into North Carolina and to hold the offenders accountable."
"The laundering of illegal drug profits is as important and essential to drug traffickers as the very distribution of their illegal drugs. Without these ill-gotten gains, the traffickers could not finance their organizations. IRS Criminal Investigation is committed with taking the profit away from the drug traffickers and putting those individuals in jail," stated Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Christopher J. Altemus, Jr.
Daniel R. Salter, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division stated, "Today is a victory, not only for the multitude of law enforcement agencies who dismantled this organization, but for the citizens in Alamance, Guilford and Wake Counties. Now that these criminals have been removed from the streets, the dangerous drugs that they would have sold will never reach the consumer. This effort would not have been successful without the mission-oriented cooperation between our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts."
Davone Chanthaphavong, of Graham, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to a term of 3 years’ probation and a $200.00 special assessment.
Nilanh Chanthaphavong, of Raleigh, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to 37 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 3 years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.
Vanhasy Manhvong, formerly of Whitsett, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was sentenced to 12 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2 years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.
Eugene Ari McAdoo, of Whitsett, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to six months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 3 years supervised release, a $100.00 special assessment, and a $2500.00 fine.
Marcus Emmanuel Parrish, of Graham, NC, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to 15 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 3 years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.
Phadthin Sihavong, of Fresno, CA, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to 57 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 3 years supervised release, and a $200.00 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall S. Galyon.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
