Six of the defendants were originally charged with various acts of extortion and debt collection in an indictment that was returned by the grand jury on February 29, 2000.  The superseding indictment introduces a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) allegation and five additional defendants.  The Superseding Indictment was returned on June 11, 2003 and was unsealed last week.

According to the superseding indictment, the defendants are alleged to have engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity commencing in 1990 and extending into 2001.  The specific offenses include extortion (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a)), arson (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i)), conducting an illegal gambling business (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1955), collection of a debt through the use of extortionate means (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 894 and California Penal Code § 520), attempted murder (in violation of California Penal Code §§ 664/187), and witness tampering (in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2)(A)).

The maximum statutory penalty for violating the substantive RICO statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), is 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, except in the case of defendant Luis Chung who faces up to imprisonment for life if convicted of attempted murder.   However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court.  An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, each defendant must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted

Mr. Ng and Mr. Tony Truong made their initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on June 17, 2003; Mr. Tom Tsan, Mr. Johnny Ly, and Mr. Thai Tuan Hoa will make their initial appearance in federal court on June 24, 2003; Mr. Mitchell Truong, Mr. Raymond Ly, Mr. Luis Chung, and Mr. John Tsan will make their initial appearance on June 25, 2003; Mr. Michael Tsan will make his initial appearance on June 27, 2003; and Mr. Thomas Nguyen will make his initial appearance on July 2, 2003.  The case is pending before Chief District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in San Francisco federal court.

The prosecution is the result of a lengthy joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Francisco Police Department Gang Task Force and the California Department of Justice.  The case follows on the heels of a related prosecution, United States v. Peter Chong, et al., CR92-0260-DLJ.  Peter Chong was convicted by a jury in April 2002 of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962 (RICO), and other counts related to murder-for-hire, extortion, and loan sharking.  The government had alleged that Peter Chong directed the organized crime activities of the Wo Hop To triad in San Francisco's Chinatown in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Some of the defendants named in the superseding indictment above were identified in the Chong trial as being members of the San Francisco based Suey Sing Tong and Wo Hop To triad.

Brian Stretch is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Christine Tian. 

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.