OK - now in Chinese fentanyl case after trial, sentencing of Yiyi Chen. Inner City Press covered the trial  https://www.innercitypress.com/sdny102rgardephehumbeifenticp072125.html… (and post-trial, MDC photo defendant docketed last night below) and will live tweet, thread below

[Sentencing proceeding was to start at 11:15 pm, but deputy said defendant Yiyi Chen, en route from MDC jail, was ten minute out. Now she's brought in by US Marshal, hair long.] All rise! Judge Gardephe: We are here for sentencing. I have read the PSR [sealed]

Judge: Late last night Mr. Kirton filed a submission [with photos] from the MDC

Judge: Mr. Kirton has made a number of objections to factual portions of the Pre-Sentencing Report. The Report refers to her as an illegal alien. Mr. Kirton objects, since it was the DEA that brought Ms. Chen to the USA. The objection is sustained

Judge: Defense counsel points out that in Italy she lived in Bologna, not Palermo. I'll make that change. Ms. Chen is being held responsible for 30 kilos or more of a chemical not listed in the Chemical Quantity Table. 1 Block 4 AP is used to synthesize fentanyl

Judge: The money laundering count is grouped. The offense level is 30. Then there are the enhancements - two levels because use of mass marketing interactive computer system- websites to sell precursor chemicals. Two more for sophisticated money laundering, crypto

Judge: The two levels for obstruction of justice based on perjury, Ms. Chen objects to. I acknowledge that just because a defendant's testimony is inconsistent with other evidence at trial does not mean perjury. But I find it here: false testimony.

Judge: She claimed she did not recognize the webpage - but it was found on her laptop. In Bangkok, she was told of fentanyl seized at the US - Mexico border, then asked What'll happen if our products are blocked by the police? She knew a lab was being set up in NY

Judge: She was aware of the indictment of one of Amarvel Biotech competitors for providing precursor chemical to Mexican cartel bosses. So her Guideline is 324 to 405 months. Defense: How can she be held responsible for remembering everything on her laptop?

Judge: Yes, there was a lot of data on her laptop. But here we're talking about images about chemical that were central to the transactions between the defendant and the DEA informants. The arguments are not colorable.

Defense lawyer Kirton: My co-counsel traveled to Wuhan, China. Co-counsel: I was a Chinese lawyer, now I'm a US attorney so I am not allowed to conduct any deposition there. The Hubei Department of Justice got involved. To avoid problems, we hired a Chinese firm

Co-counsel: Wuhan had been three cities, now it is 13 million people, called Big Wuhan. I think the pandemic, the problem came from Wuhan. Ms. Chen has suffered. There is a 3000 year old sword there, it is very shiny. It is very very interesting.

Co-counsel: YiYi's boss was not available- Judge: I take it she is no longer with the company? Co-counsel: Correct. But I got YiYi's employment contracts, and why was was sent to Fiji. There are a lot of documents being blocked by the government.

Co-counsel: I got her records of university in Bologna, I find it hard to pronounce that hard, I'm told it's like saying baloney...Her parents, they are almost retired, they are in poor health. Her mother, the pain she had, I can feel it. Her mother blames herself

Co-counsel: Her mother wanted her to return to China and meet a boy, get married and have children. Medical record indicate she has cancer. I told her I will tell the judge. She is a from the generation of the one-child policy. Often they are troublemakers

Co-counsel: I spoke with Yiyi's friend who said she is a very nice woman. Yiyi went to the rural area to be a teacher of dancing and music after the earthquake. Those children's smile are really priceless, they are really grateful. She worked on animal protection

Co-counsel: In the MDC she was teaching inmates to speak Chinese... Lead defense counsel Kirton: We got a letter from the Chinese consulate that my client was having problems with her menstrual cycle. I have put that before the court, including nose bleeds

Kirton: Yiyi had nose bleeds because other inmates insisted on smoking K2. She continued to have nose bleeds. She was trying to upload the Rule 16 discovery production. She did not have access to all of it. She had an elevated thyroid level.

Defense counsel: In the attorney visiting room there was no air conditioning. She has no access to research at the MDC but she wrote a plan about helping seniors. There is were her future lies. And in importing luxury goods from Italy into China

Defense: We request FCI Thomson in Illinois, with its Pawsitive Paws Dog Training Program https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tom/… Judge: Ms. Chen, do you wish to say anything? Yiyi Chen: No, Your Honor.

AUSA: There was no mistake about who they were selling these chemical to - they were targeting buyers in Mexico. She asked them, If our shipment gets seized, can you get it out? There is still no acknowledgement of her true role in this conspiracy.

AUSA: Sitting behind a company you can ship 200 kilos of these chemicals into the USA - it does not put you on a different footing that those selling on the streets in the US... We've turned over reams of medical records, we notified MDC

AUSA: We are requesting a sentence of 216 months. Deterrence is important. We rest on our submission. Judge Gardephe: Amarvel Biotech boasted it shipped tons of chemical to the US each month, intermediates to produce fentanyl. It guaranteed 100% stealth shipping

Judge: The company promised to disguise the shipments as dog food, or nuts. These images were found on defendant's laptop. There were also meth precursors. A DEA informant code-named Jose told them he was making fentanyl - the chemical were shipped to the US

Judge: Jose said they would pay in USDT, a cryptocurrency; she confirmed receipt. During the Bangkok meeting she confirmed Gil could manufacture his fentanyl with the three chemicals he was purchasing. She said communication would use "F" not fentanyl

Judge: On money laundering, she asked Gil, This you still use the USDT. He asked, the crypto and everything? She said, Yes. In the Fiji meeting she provided the USDT wallet address, for three tons of precursor chemicals... She is 33, was raised middle class

Judge: She returned from two years in Italy to Wuhan in late 2019. During the COVID 19 pandemic she remained in Wuhan. She became marketing director for Amarvel Biotech. The guildeline is 27 years; Probation suggest 12 months. The prosecutors ask for 18 years.

Judge: She arranged a three ton delivery - three tons - of fentanyl precursors to the US. I have had in this courtroom parents of people who took this drug and died. Ms. Chen lied at trial. Had she not gotten trapped in Wuhan by the pandemic, might not do this

Judge Gardephe: A severe sentence is necessary for general deterrence. I sentence you to 15 years in prison.

Judge: She shall forfeit web domains. Story later on this 2+ hour sentencing If like and can, support: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/matthewleeICP… https://venmo.com/u/Matthew-Lee-675… https://buymeacoffee.com/innercitypress Extras, like on X for Subscribers: https://matthewrussellleeicp.substack.com Docs: https://patreon.com/MatthewRussellLee…