United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Tacoma, Washington, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on August 15, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Mei Ying Li, age 42, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Li was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in March of 2021. She pled guilty on May 23, 2022.
In June of 2020, Li reached an agreement to distribute 100 kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance, in the District of South Dakota.
While she was actively involved in the conspiracy, she accompanied a co-conspirator on multiple trips to deliver marijuana. Li would obtain marijuana from one co-conspirator and then deliver it to another co-conspirator for him to drive and deliver it to additional co-conspirators in other states. Li’s co-conspirator drove the marijuana in his vehicle, while she accompanied him in a different vehicle to serve as protection from law enforcement. During one such trip on December 12, 2020, her co-conspirator drove a vehicle that contained approximately 151.95 kilograms of marijuana through the state of South Dakota, when he was pulled over and the vehicle was searched. Her involvement in the conspiracy ended on December 12, 2020, when she was arrested following this incident.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.
Li was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.