A federal grand jury in Boston indicted four individuals, including two Lowell residents, for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and launder the proceeds in Massachusetts and Virginia, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office announced Tuesday.
Sathra Em of Lowell received two indictments, with one on charges of a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and launder the proceeds in Massachusetts and Virginia. This charge was also handed to Kenneth Owen from Charlotte Court House, Virginia, and Michael Mao, an inmate at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia, Rollins’ office said.
Em was also indicted for a separate money laundering scheme with Sarath Yut, aka “Black,” “Khmao” and “Asian Warrior,” of Lowell.
Owen, aka “Apple” or “Carlos;” Mao, aka “Whitebodian,” “Spook” or “Leno;” and Em allegedly conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute MDMA and buprenorphine in Lowell, the Western District of Virginia and elsewhere between December 2019 and May 2021, Rollins’ office said. The alleged plan was to launder the proceeds to hide their activity.
Em allegedly conspired with Yut to launder drug proceeds as cash deposits into Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union bank accounts and as mortgage payments for a Lowell residence, the attorney’s office said.
Em and Owen were released following their Jan. 19 arrest on conditions following their initial appearances in federal court in Boston and the Western District of Virginia, respectively. Mao is serving his prison sentence for several state convictions for violent offenses, including attempted murder. Yut was already charged for his alleged role leading a long-running drug trafficking enterprise involving numerous gang members and associates of the Lowell-based criminal street gang, One Family Clique.
Yut is in federal custody and is pending trial in that case, Rollins’ office said.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute MDMA and Buprenorphine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million, Rollins’ office said in a statement.
A money laundering conspiracy charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine, or twice the amount of the property involved, whichever is greater. Both charges also include forfeiture of assets traceable to or involved in the distribution and laundering offenses.
The Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation played a role in this investigation. The operation “identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach,” according to Rollins’ office.
Ad Choices