John McKay, United States Attorney for the
Western District of Washington; Steve Pasholk,
Special Agent-in-Charge of the Seattle Field
Office, Criminal Investigations, Internal
Revenue Service; John M. Bott, Special Agent-in-Charge
of the Drug Enforcement Administration in
Seattle; and Paul Watkins, Commander, South
Snohomish Narcotics Task Force, announced
today the pleas of guilty by leaders of an
international money laundering ring based
in Seattle, Washington, and Falls Church,
Virginia. NGHIEM NU-DOAN TRUONG, age 27, of
Bellevue, Washington, and her brother, TUNG
QUOC TRUONG, age 25, of Springfield, Virginia,
each pleaded guilty on October 21, 2003, to
Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering as
charged in Count 1 of the First Superseding
Indictment. NGHIEM TRUONG is scheduled to
be sentenced by United Stated District Judge
Marsha J. Pechman on January 23, 2004, at
9:30 a.m. TUNG TRUONG is scheduled to be sentenced
by Judge Pechman on January 27, 2004, at 4:00
p.m.
Two additional defendants have entered pleas
of guilty in the case. KHI DUY TA, age 69,
of Seattle, Washington, pleaded guilty today
to Failure to File a Currency Transaction
Report, which carries a maximum penalty of
five years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine,
a term of supervised release of up to three
years, and a special assessment of $100. TA
is scheduled for sentencing before Judge Pechman
on January 21, 2004, at 4:00 p.m. Defendant
SUI DO LY, age 53, of Seattle, Washington,
pleaded guilty on October 14, 2003, to Bulk
Cash Smuggling, as charged in 4 of the First
Superseding Indictment. She is scheduled for
sentencing on January 9, 2004, at 1:30 p.m.
before Judge Pechman.
According to court documents, NGHIEM TRUONG
and TUNG TRUONG, utilizing their money remitting
business, MY-A INC., also known as My-A Money
Transfer Services, conspired with other persons
to launder at least two and one-half million
dollars ($2,500,000.00) and possibly as much
as twenty million dollars ($20,000,000.00).
The main office of My-A Money Transfer was
located at 900 South Jackson in Seattle, Washington.
The source of these funds were derived from
the criminal activities of co-defendants Cong
Chinh Dinh a/k/a Tai and Andy Hoang a/k/a
Viet, and the transactions were designed to
conceal the source of the funds. MY-A INC.
operated in a variety of locations throughout
the United States, and had one location in
Saigon, Vietnam. NGHIEM TRUONG was the sole
owner of MY-A INC., and her brother/co-defendant
TUNG TRUONG was a manager for the corporation,
and oversaw the operations of My-A INC., at
their office in Falls Church, Virginia, and
a sub-agent location in Springfield, Virginia.
NGHIEM TRUONG and TUNG TRUONG concealed and
disguised the nature, location, source, and
true ownership of funds belonging to, or intended
for, Cong Chinh Dinh and Andy Hoang by intentionally
failing to document the transfer of currency;
falsifying business records; structuring currency
deposits; failing to prepare required currency
transaction reports for domestic and international
movements of funds; sending currency interstate
by air delivery rather than wire transferring
funds through banks; and transporting and
smuggling of currency through the use of money
couriers from a place in the United States
into Canada.
Defendants SUI DO LY and Anh Thoai Huynh
served as intermediary money couriers for
Cong Chinh Dinh and Andy Hoang. Specifically,
Anh Thoai Huynh on one occasion took possession
of $52,000 in United States currency from
NGHIEM TRUONG and caused the currency to be
transported from Seattle, Washington, to Cong
Chinh Dinh in Canada. This money was smuggled
into Canada, and no documentation of the transfer
of funds was ever created.
NGHIEM TRUONG employed several other defendants
as employees in her business. Defendant KHI
DUY TA was a manager at the main office of
My-A Money Transfer in Seattle. Defendants
Yen Bui and Cuong Huynh assisted NGHIEM TRUONG's
money laundering activities by structuring
deposits of funds into various banks, that
is, causing deposits of funds under $10,000
per transaction to avoid the creation and
filing of a currency transaction report by
the banks. NGHIEM TRUONG also employed defendant
Nam Bac Vu as an employee at the My-A Money
Transfer Service office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Nam Vu assisted NGHIEM TRUONG in the money
laundering scheme by receiving varying amounts
of currency ranging from $5,000 to $20,000
or more at a time from two known but uncharged
coconspirators whose source for the funds
was derived from criminal activities. NGHIEM
TRUONG and Nam Vu destroyed records, intentionally
concealed records from State and Federal authorities,
failed to prepare and file currency transaction
reports, and wilfully refrained from complying
with money services regulations in the State
of Minnesota.
Pursuant to their Plea Agreements, NGHIEM
TRUONG and TUNG TRUONG agreed to forfeit assets
consisting of a residence in Bellevue and
over $460,000 in cash. Numerous other assets
subject to forfeiture will be resolved by
the parties prior to sentencing or at the
sentencing hearing.
This case is based on a joint investigation
by agents, investigators, and officers from
the Drug Enforcement Administration in Seattle,
Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations
in Seattle, and the South Snohomish Narcotics
Task Force in Lynnwood. The investigation
was funded in part by the federal Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program.
The federal and state law enforcement agencies
also were assisted by the Organized Crime
Agency in British Columbia, Canada. Assistant
United States Attorneys Ye-Ting Woo and Sarah
Vogel are prosecuting the case.
For further information, please contact Lawrence
Lincoln, Press Spokesperson for the United
States Attorney's Office, at (206) 553-4127.
