COLUMBUS — Two Columbus attorneys accused of laundering money for a drug ring that brought $100 million in illegal drugs to central Ohio from Arizona are scheduled to plead guilty early next year.

Charles W. McGowan, 41, and Kyle Hunter, 40, plan to plead guilty Jan. 6 in federal court to charges of laundering money for the drug ring run by Donald Dailey Jr.

Dailey, of Pataskala, was sentenced in October to 20 years in prison for his leadership of the ring, which involved cash and drugs crisscrossing the country in all types of vehicles.

The roles of McGowan and Hunter had been kept quiet while prosecutors worked out plea deals.

Prosecutors say Dailey paid McGowan to find attorneys for drug mules who were caught in other states.

Payments were made in cash, often stashed in containers such as doughnut boxes or fast food bags.

The operations of the ring have become clearer to federal investigators as charges they pressed against ring participants led to several becoming informants.

Investigators gathered information on McGowan and Hunter in August, when they searched the law offices of McGowan and Hunter in Columbus and obtained a computer, as well as financial records. Investigators also searched each man’s home.

Court records show McGowan is accused of laundering $30,000 to $70,000 in drug money and failing to report cash payments of $120,000 to $200,000.

An agreement signed by McGowan in October says he will plead guilty to laundering money and failing to report cash payments of $10,000.