Wynn Las Vegas Scheme Exposed: How Underground Bankers, Cartel Cash, and Casino Hosts Fueled a Massive Illicit Pipeline

In September 2024, Wynn Las Vegas acknowledged to the U.S. Department of Justice that it had “conspired with unlicensed money transmitting businesses that moved millions of dollars in illicit funds through the casino,” agreeing to forfeit an unprecedented $130 million. At the time, the public learned little about what exactly drove the largest-ever forfeiture involving a U.S. casino. The government’s announcement offered only sweeping descriptions, leaving unanswered questions about how the covert money channels functioned, why casino staff were drawn in, and how proceeds tied to Mexican cartels ultimately served the needs of elite gamblers on the Las Vegas Strip.

A CNN investigation has now illuminated the scope of the clandestine network. After examining extensive court filings and interviewing investigators involved in the case, CNN traced the operation to a blend of Chinese underground bankers, cash derived from fentanyl-linked drug activity, and Wynn hosts who facilitated the quiet transfer of millions into the casino ecosystem.

According to CNN’s reporting, intermediaries such as Lei Zhang played a crucial role catering to high-net-worth gamblers from China who were constrained by the country’s strict $50,000 annual limit on overseas transfers. These gamblers needed far more than legally permissible, prompting intermediaries to step in with U.S. dollars often obtained from criminal enterprises, including narcotics trafficking and prostitution. The gamblers then repaid the money through Chinese bank channels, enabling them to bypass American financial oversight.

Wynn employees became enmeshed in the conduct. VIP hosts arranged discreet encounters between these middlemen and their gambler clients in hotel rooms, restrooms, and other private spaces inside the property. There, cash exchanges took place that sidestepped both U.S. and foreign transfer rules, undermining federal Anti-Money Laundering requirements. Investigators told CNN the cash funneled through these meetings had clear ties to “prostitution, human smuggling and the street sale of deadly drugs.” As former DEA official Chris Urben memorably stated, “Forty-eight hours ago, that was the proceeds of fentanyl.”

The investigation began taking shape in 2018 when another Las Vegas casino flagged what appeared to be a pattern: individuals arriving with bags, briefly meeting hosts, then leaving without wagering. That observation triggered a chain of inquiries, culminating in the 2019 arrests of Zhang and three other Chinese nationals—Bing Han, Liang Zhou, and Fan Wang—operating as couriers in an underground banking network. CNN reports that once investigators subpoenaed call records, they found the men were in constant communication with Wynn hosts, speaking “multiple times a day every day.” Surveillance soon documented frequent cash deliveries directly connected to illicit activity.

Undercover operations soon followed. In May 2019, investigators staged a sting by convincing Zhang he was making a $150,000 cash drop in a hotel room. Agents confiscated “four brick-sized stacks of cash” from his bag. His companion, a woman carrying several phones, was discovered to be running an escort service, and two-thirds of the money in the bag belonged to her. By the end of 2020, the four defendants entered guilty pleas for their roles in an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise. Zhang was ordered to forfeit $150,000 and received a 15-month federal sentence; the others also gave up substantial amounts of cash. One prosecutor assessed the broader network as moving funds “in the hundred-million dollar range” annually.

Nevada’s own enforcement actions followed the federal case. Months after the 2024 forfeiture, the Nevada Gaming Commission imposed a $5.5 million fine against Wynn in May 2025, citing significant compliance failures tied to staff involvement in the illicit cash movements. As CNN notes, state regulators directly linked their findings to the same conduct uncovered in the federal investigation, characterizing the internal deficiencies as “significant compliance breakdowns,” though they acknowledged that Wynn cooperated and undertook corrective actions.

The new revelations land atop an already lengthy history of regulatory and governance scrutiny surrounding Wynn Resorts. After widespread allegations of sexual misconduct against founder Steve Wynn emerged publicly, he stepped down in 2018. In July 2023, Nevada regulators reached a settlement requiring him to pay $10 million and sever remaining ties with the company. Wynn Resorts also resolved multiple shareholder suits, paying sizable settlements over the fallout from the misconduct allegations. This backdrop frames the current AML-related penalties as part of a sustained series of compliance pressures for the operator.

In comments to CNN, the company emphasized its cooperation and the steps it took following the investigation. Wynn stated that it had dismissed the small group of implicated employees, noting that their behavior contravened company policies. The company added: “Wynn is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, compliance, and regulatory responsibility. We accept responsibility for the historical deficiencies identified, have taken meaningful remediation, and are dedicated to ensuring that such failures do not reoccur.” As part of its commitments under the settlement, Wynn bolstered its compliance ranks, formed an independent oversight committee, and reinforced its anti-money laundering controls.

By fLEXI tEAM