A former Virginia inmate has been sentenced to over a decade in prison after being convicted for his role in drug distribution and money laundering conspiracies. Michael Mao, known by multiple aliases including “Whitebodian,” “Spook,” and “Leno,” received a 121-month prison sentence followed by four years of supervised release, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV. Mao had pleaded guilty to the charges in August, as per theUnited States Attorney’s Office.
According to a press release on theUnited States Attorney’s Officerelease, from December 2019 to May 2021, Mao was involved in conspiracies to source and distribute MDMA and Buprenorphine from Massachusetts into the Buckingham Correctional Center. These acts included collaboration with Sathtra Em and Sarath Yut and even involved bribing a corrupt prison guard, Kenneth Owen, to smuggle the drugs into the facility.
Co-conspirators in the case have also faced legal repercussions. Sarath Yut was sentenced to 15 years in prison in October 2023, after pleading guilty to similar charges. Meanwhile, Sathtra Em received a sentence of 21 months in prison following his guilty plea in August. The corrupt guard implicated in the scheme, Kenneth Owen, pleaded guilty and is slated for sentencing on December 10.
The sentencing is part of the work done by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) which targets extensive criminal networks. The FBI’s Boston Division and entities like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations provided special assistance in cracking this case. The efforts showcase a collaborative approach to dismantle threats posed by top-level criminal organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and, Alexandra Amhrein of the Asset Forfeiture Unit led the prosecution.
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