A San Gabriel Valley woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to managing a network of money launderers who collectively moved more than $11 million in funds stolen from elderly victims across the country.
Cynthia Song, 43, of Arcadia pleaded guilty in downtown Los Angeles to one federal count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a felony carrying a prison sentence of up to 20 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Song was arrested by federal authorities in October 2024 after she returned from a trip to Mexico.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Song admitted in her plea agreement to conspiring with others to launder millions stolen from mostly elderly victims by receiving fraudulently obtained funds and quickly transferring them to overseas accounts, primarily in China.
The defendant recruited at least 15 others — mainly people of Chinese descent living in the Los Angeles area, some of them in the country unlawfully — to take part in the scheme. Song instructed recruits to form business entities and open multiple business bank accounts to further disguise the money laundering, prosecutors said.
At least $11.6 million stolen from over 180 victims flowed through the scheme’s bank accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Song and her associates skimmed between 5% to 10% of the funds for themselves before the money was transferred to China, according to her plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.