• Wynn hosts helped underground bankers move criminal cash.
• New details show cartel-linked money funneled through high-roller gambling.
• Undercover sting reveals prostitution-tied cash delivered to casino clients.

In September 2024, the Wynn Las Vegas agreed to forfeit $130 million under a federal non-prosecution agreement for conspiring with unlicensed money-transmitting businesses and failing to maintain adequate anti-money-laundering (AML) safeguards. It was the largest such forfeiture ever imposed on a US casino.

The Wynn Las Vegas, above, was subject to a massive federal settlement over illicit cash-delivery schemes. A CNN investigation found that some employees helped underground bankers move illicit funds through the property. (Image: Shutterstock)

Now, new details uncovered by a CNN investigation reveal the mechanics behind the misconduct. This includes the complicity of some Wynn VIP hosts in facilitating money laundering for underground Chinese banks with possible links to drug cartels, prostitution networks, and human-smuggling rings.

At the heart of the scheme were a handful of San Diego federal cases against four Las Vegas-based Chinese nationals: Lei Zhang, Bing Han, Liang Zhou and Fan Wang.

All four pleaded guilty by 2020 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that catered largely to Chinese gamblers who needed US cash to play in Las Vegas casinos, according to court records.

Cash Pipeline

Zhang collected bulk US currency from third parties and delivered it to gamblers in the United States, according to those records. Investigators interviewed by CNN said the suppliers of the cash may have included prostitution rings, human-smuggling networks, and Mexican drug cartels.

The gamblers, in turn, transferred an equivalent amount of yuan via Chinese mobile banking apps to accounts controlled by Zhang or his associates. This allowed the transactions to bypass both US financial reporting requirements and Chinese capital-outflow controls.

Zhang admitted he was regularly introduced to customers by casino hosts at Wynn and elsewhere. According to his sentencing memo and Justice Department statements, hosts stood to benefit through increased cash play by high-roller clients and sometimes received a cut of his commission.

A related guilty plea filing for Wang says he, too, was typically introduced to customers by casino hosts, who knew the players needed cash to keep gambling.

Hotel Room Sting

In May 2019, an undercover agent posing as a gambler arranged to meet Zhang inside a Las Vegas hotel room, according to investigators interviewed by CNN.

Zhang arrived clutching a satchel and accompanied by a woman whom investigators described as a “madam” overseeing prostitution.

Zhang was later sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $150K. The three others also agreed to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to DOJ releases.

Investigators said evidence from the four Las Vegas cases helped inform the federal probe that culminated in Wynn’s 2024 settlement. The DOJ’s agreement also cited earlier misconduct dating back to 2014, including “flying money” transfers and proxy gambling schemes involving foreign patrons.

Drug Money

US officials have warned that this style of underground banking, dominated by Chinese brokers, is the preferred method for Mexican drug cartels to offload bulk cash profits from fentanyl and other drugs. Prosecutor Mark Pletcher estimated the underground-banking problem was “in the nine-figure range” annually.

In addition to the federal forfeiture, the Nevada Gaming Control Board fined Wynn $5.5 million in May 2025 for state-level AML violations tied to the same infractions.

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