Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Harboring Fugitive

A Minnesota man who harbored and concealed a fugitive in 2022 pled guilty on May 13, 2025, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Jay Anthony Tapper, age 56, from Rosemount, Minnesota, was convicted of one count of harboring a fugitive. 

At the plea hearing, Tapper admitted that, in August and September 2022, he knew there was a federal warrant outstanding for the arrest of Mary Kate Nguyen.  Tapper harbored and concealed Nguyen during those two months.  Tapper intended to prevent Nguyen’s discovery and arrest on then-pending felony charges.  U.S. Marshals ultimately arrested Nguyen, and she was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on fraud and contempt charges in January 2025.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Tapper remains free on bond pending sentencing.  Tapper faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation-Special Enforcement Operations Bureau.  The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Woodbury (Minnesota) Police Department, U.S. Marshal’s Service, Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, and Iowa Division of Intelligence assisted in the investigation.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file numbers are 25-CR-4024 (Tapper) and 21-CR-3037 (Nguyen).

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