Texas attorney pleads guilty to laundering drug money

Attorney agreed to launder money for undercover DEA agent

View of the Dallas skyline through the Horseshoe highway built to upgrade the congested interchange in downtown Dallas, Texas on July 21, 2020. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images) (VALERIE MACON, Getty Images)

DALLAS – A prominent Dallas attorney pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to launder money he believed was linked to drug trafficking.

Rayshun Jackson, 52, head of the Jackson Law Firm, was arrested in April, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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He entered his guilty plea this week and admitted to laundering $380,000 for an individual he believed was a drug trafficker.

That drug trafficker turned out to be a DEA agent who was introduced to Jackson by the leader of a large-scale opioid distribution ring known as “Person A”, authorities said.

Jackson told the agent he could launder up to $500,000 a month through non-traceable cash businesses like coin laundries, car washes and shell corporations.

Court documents show that Person A told the undercover DEA agent that Jackson “is the bomb... He’s a thug, he’s just got a law degree.”

The DEA agent brought Jackson $100,000 cash in a black backpack in Sept. 2020 and Jackson agreed to launder it in return for 5% cash upfront, feds said in a press release. Jackson deposited $95,000 into his various bank accounts before eventually transferring the entire sum back into the DEA’s undercover bank account.

The following month the DEA agent brought Jackson $300,000 cash to launder under the guise of the same agreement with 5% cash upfront. Again, Jackson eventually deposited $285,000 back into the DEA’s undercover bank account.

According to the feds, Jackson admitted to knowing the agreement was unlawful.

He now faces five years in federal prison, a forfeiture money judgment of $20,000 and he will likely be stripped of his law license.

Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah said “the drug trade would die if it weren’t lucrative. Mr. Jackson attempted to profit off the backs of addicted individuals, and we are gratified to bring him to justice.”