Married Owners of Downtown L.A. Precious Metals Businesses Plead Guilty to Hiding from IRS Millions of Dollars in Cash Transactions

LOS ANGELES – The husband-and-wife owners of precious metals businesses in the downtown Los Angeles Jewelry District and one of their companies pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for concealing millions of dollars’ worth of cash transactions from the United States government, failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program, and using the unreported cash at other family businesses, at a casino, and for other personal expenses.

The following defendants pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy:

• Alex Nguyen, 50, of Irvine, who also pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return;
• Sam Nguyen, 52, also of Irvine, who is Alex Nguyen’s wife; and
• Newport Gold Post Inc., one of the companies they own.

According to their plea agreements, from May 2013 to March 2022, Alex and Sam Nguyen owned several family businesses that bought and sold precious metals, including Newport Gold Post, Goldtech Assay Laboratory LLC (which did business as Infinity), Sam Bullion and Coin, and AAPS Bullion.

These family businesses received millions of dollars in cash from their customers, requiring the Nguyens to file paperwork with the IRS. Alex and Sam Nguyen knowingly and repeatedly failed to file a Form 8300 with the IRS – as required by the Bank Secrecy Act – where they were supposed to report cash transactions over $10,000.

For example, during a February 2020 transaction, a buyer asked for a receipt after buying 643 ounces (40.2 pounds or 18.2 kilograms) of silver for approximately $11,766, Alex Nguyen replied, “Not for cash” and did not ask the buyer to show any identification.

As that year progressed, the buyer made multiple purchases of silver from Alex Nguyen, culminating in December 2020, when the buyer brought a suitcase containing $140,000 in cash – with half of the cash wrapped in heat-sealed packages. Alex Nguyen took the cash and provided 5,118 ounces (320 pounds or 145.1 kilograms) of silver. During all these transactions – four in total – Alex Nguyen knowingly and intentionally failed to file a Form 8300 with the IRS.

While operating the family businesses, Alex Nguyen received $200,000 to $1 million in cash daily from customers. He used this cash to purchase other precious metals from other Jewelry District businesses, agreeing with other business operators to not file completed Form 8300s.

In total, Alex Nguyen and his co-conspirators intentionally failed to file inaccurate or incomplete Form 8300s on more than 350 occasions for at least $127,446,066 in cash that was delivered to Nguyen family businesses.

In her plea agreement, Sam Nguyen admitted to intentionally failing to file a Form 8300 for multiple precious metals transactions, including in July 2021, when a buyer purchased 50 one-ounce gold bars at Newport Gold for $100,000. The cash for that transaction was wrapped in heat-sealed, shrink wrapping. Sam Nguyen told the buyer that she preferred shrink-wrapped cash because sometimes she received cash that had been buried underground.

Despite the suspicious packaging and her obligations to obtain customer information for the Form 8300, she did not ask for identification, did not inquire about the source of the cash, and intentionally did not file a Form 8300 for the transaction.

The defendants further admitted to failing to develop, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering program as required by federal law. IRS auditors advised Alex and Sam Nguyen multiple times to set up such a program for their businesses, but the defendants failed to do so.

Further, Alex and Sam Nguyen admitted to lying to federal officials, including IRS auditors and the FBI. Alex Nguyen falsely said he did not accept cash payments and had not done so since the 1980s. Sam Nguyen lied to auditors and federal agents when she said she did not accept cash payments. 

Finally, from 2016 through 2020, Alex Nguyen knowingly and willfully filed under penalty of perjury false joint tax returns where he failed to report income from the Nguyen family businesses, failing to report $1,535,330 in 2019 alone. The Nguyens also took cash from their businesses to a casino then received checks totaling $1,048,450 from the casino, which they deposited into their bank accounts for personal use.

The total tax due and owing for all five years in question is between $1,767,112 to $1,870,273, according to court documents.

United States District Judge Michelle Williams Court scheduled June 5, 2026, sentencing hearings for the defendants. At the time of sentencing, Alex Nguyen will face up to eight years in federal prison, Sam Nguyen will face up to five years in federal prison, and Newport Gold Post will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years of probation and a $500,000 fine.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea Norell of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.