Girlfriend of drug kingpin sentenced to prison for money laundering
NOVI, Mich. (FOX 2) - The girlfriend of a drug kingpin who had hubs all over the U.S., including in Novi, was sentenced to prison this week.
Teeauna White, 36, of Moreno Valley, Calif., received a 3 ½ year prison sentence for money laundering.
Authorities say she conspired with her boyfriend, Maurice McCoy, to conceal his drug money by setting up multiple businesses and controlling access to bank accounts.
Though the couple is from California, their operations stretched beyond the state. In 2017, Drug Enforcement Administration agents used a PlayStation box to track drugs to one of McCoy's hubs in Michigan.
During a raid of a Novi home, agents found more than 65 pounds of fentanyl and more than $500,000.
Drug kingpin pleads guilty after PlayStation box leads feds to 65+ pounds of fentanyl, $500K at Novi home
A fentanyl kingpin pleaded guilty after investigators traced a PlayStation box with heroin to a Novi condo, where they found dozens of pounds of the deadly drug and half-a-million dollars.
Agents identified couriers who crisscrossed the U.S. delivering drugs, transporting money, or laundering money, leading to multiple arrests and additional seizures in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Baltimore, Maryland, where the organization also operated.
White knew McCoy, who had served 10 years in federal prison for a prior drug trafficking conviction, was a convicted felon when she helped him launder drug money, according to authorities.
Authorities said the couple used money from the drug operation to fund a lavish lifestyle that included expensive jewelry, a home worth more than $500,000, vehicles, and more. White often bragged on social media, posting pictures of her cars, jewelry, and vacations.
Of the 18 defendants charged in connection with the operation, only White and Robin Herndon, a relative who she and McCoy used to purchase their home, went to trial. The remaining defendants, including couriers, large-scale drug customers, and McCoy himself, pleaded guilty. White and Herndon were convicted by a jury in July 2023.
After the verdict, authorities said White took to social media to threaten the witnesses who had testified at trial.
"Money launderers are an essential, but often unseen, part of the drug trade. Their relative anonymity allows money launderers to profit handsomely from the drug business, while avoiding the more significant risks of drug dealing. But they help drug dealers access and enjoy the proceeds of a crime that poisons our communities. Money launderers should be held accountable and punished commensurately with the importance of their role in drug trafficking, and we will do our part by ensuring they are aggressively prosecuted," said United States Attorney Dawn Ison.