Lisette Lee of Lost Angeles entered her plea in federal court on Friday to one count of conspiracy. She accused of hiding marijuana in suitcases flown on private jets from California to Ohio last year.
Her boyfriend, Frank Edwards, a Hacienda, Calif., man who was among five others arrested in the care, also pleaded guilty to a similar charge.
Authorities say an operation overseen by Lee distributed about 7,000 pounds of marijuana and made more than $3 million.
She was arrested last June, when authorities said she flew to Columbus with marijuana in 13 suitcases.
From the moment she was arrested, Lee said that she was the granddaughter of Byung-Chul Lee, the founder of Samsung. Lisette Lee said her parents, who were not married, had friends adopt her at birth and take her to the United States.
Samsung has denied that she is a member of the family and Lee never provided concrete evidence of the tie to Samsung or of her birth or adoption records. But her aunt testified under oath that Lee’s mother was Corine Lee, the daughter of Byung-Chul Lee.
Her lawyer Jon Saia said, quoted as saying in some local medias, he could not verify Lee’s family ties, but she is a distant relative, . However, he said Samsung has nothing to do with the drug trafficking.
“She does have tied to two Asian conglomerates,” he said,
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