*EPF107 11/15/2004
Text: U.S. Authorities Target Two Chinese Organized Crime Groups
(Lim Shang, Wang Shao Feng, 49 others charged with multiple crimes) (2360)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, announced indictments targeting two powerful Chinese organized crime groups that had been operating in New York City.

In a statement released November 12, ICE Special Agent Michael Ficke said an investigation of nearly two years has culminated in a major setback for two "vicious, violent, organized crime gangs." The charges against Lim Shang and Wang Shao Feng, the alleged leaders of these criminal enterprises, and 49 other defendants include attempted murder, conspiracy to take hostages, extortion, human smuggling, money laundering, and the operation of large-scale illegal gambling businesses.

If found guilty, some of the accused could face up to 20 years in prison under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law. The indictments also seek a total of $11 million in forfeiture of assets from 16 of the defendants charged with RICO offenses.

Following is the text of the press release:

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
November 12, 2004

U.S. INDICTS 51 CHINESE ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURES AND ASSOCIATES IN MASSIVE COORDINATED SWEEP

New York, NY -- MARTIN FICKE, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York, DAVID N. KELLEY, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, PASQUALE D'AMURO, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and RAYMOND W. KELLY, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced today the unsealing of three Indictments in Manhattan federal court that are expected to deal a crushing blow to two of the most powerful Chinese organized crime groups operating in New York City.

The indictments allege both groups - led, respectively, by defendants LIM SHANG and WANG SHAO FENG - regularly resorted to violence and threats of violence to augment their power, territory, and financial profits.

Among other crimes, seven defendants in the two organizations are charged with attempting to murder, and conspiring to murder, five different victims. One victim was shot in the head, and others were stabbed and beaten almost to death in furtherance of the enterprises' objectives.

"This case is a prime example of ICE harnessing all of the resources and authorities of the Department of Homeland Security to help rid New York City of vicious, violent, organized crime gangs," said Ficke. "Over the course of a year-and-a-half we identified their infrastructure, assets, and leadership; and within a 36-hour period we decapitated it."

In total, the three Indictments unsealed today charge 51 defendants with wide-ranging criminal activity, including racketeering offenses (RICO), attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, alien smuggling, conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens, conspiracy to take hostages, extortionate debt collection, conspiracy to use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit, money laundering, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and the operation of large-scale illegal gambling businesses.

The Indictments also seek a total of $11 million in forfeiture from the 16 defendants charged with RICO offenses, reflecting the lucrative nature of the organizations' criminal businesses. In connection with the unsealing of these indictments, the Government also executed nine search warrants at various illegal gambling locations and warehouses storing counterfeit goods in Manhattan and Queens.

The unsealed federal Indictments are the result of coordinated investigations over the past two years by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, ICE, the FBI, and the NYPD.

The defendants who are in custody will be arraigned this afternoon by a United States Magistrate Judge in Manhattan federal court at 500 Pearl Street.

THE LIM INDICTMENT

The Lim Indictment, which charges a total of 28 defendants, alleges that eight of the defendants, LIM SHANG, a/k/a "Ah Ho," a/k/a "Lo Ban," a/k/a "Lin He," CHEN SHENG, a/k/a "Lo Ma," a/k/a "Xiao Ma," YI TIAN ZHENG, a/k/a "Yi Tian," LI YAN, a/k/a "Wai Sum Yu," a/k/a "Ah Fung," a/k/a "Tony," LI GUO QIU, a/k/a "Jimmy," CHEN YAN QING, a/k/a "Yan Qing," a/k/a "Ah Sheng," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Ah Liang," and MA YU DONG, a/k/a "Ah Dong," (the "Lim RICO Defendants"), were members of a violent and organized criminal enterprise (the "Lim Organization").

The Lim Indictment also charges that Defendant LIM SHANG was the primary leader of the Lim Organization, and was responsible for, among other things, supervising the criminal activities of the other members of the Lim Organization, providing them with support and protection, and resolving disputes with other organized criminal groups in the New York City area. Specifically, the Lim Indictment alleges that when disputes arose between the Lim Organization and other criminal enterprises in the New York City area, LIM SHANG, the leader of the Lim Organization, would be called upon to resolve these disputes. In some instances, LIM SHANG resolved disputes by using threats of violence and actual violence against the members and associates of other criminal groups.

The Lim Indictment charges nine separate acts of racketeering activity in two counts, including, among other crimes, a conspiracy to murder and the attempted murder of an individual ("Victim-1") on or about May 9, 2003; a conspiracy to murder and the attempted murder of another individual ("Victim- 2") on or about September 27, 2003; a conspiracy to murder a third individual ("Victim-3") from in or about April 2004 through May 2004; a conspiracy to extort and the extortion of yet another individual ("Victim-4") in or about July 2003; a conspiracy to use and the use of extortionate means to collect extensions of credit to various victims; a conspiracy to operate and the widespread operation of a lucrative illegal gambling business; and a conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.

In connection with the Lim Organization's debt collection, several victims were physically attacked by members and associates of the group.

In addition to the racketeering charges, 18 defendants listed in the Lim Indictment are charged with participating in a conspiracy to conduct and operate an illegal gambling business, and with operation of an illegal gambling business. In addition to all of the Lim RICO Defendants, those charged in the gambling counts include ZHANG XIU QIAO, a/k/a "Duck Egg Chow," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Andy," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Ah Ling," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Jiang Li Ming," a/k/a "William Chen," QIU XING GUO, a/k/a "Yi Guo," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Li Zi," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Sister Ying," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Dong Gua," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Wu Hai," and FNU LNU, a/k/a "Aunt Wan Zheng."

In addition, 13 defendants listed in the Lim Indictment are charged with participating in a conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and with trafficking in counterfeit goods. In addition to three of the Lim RICO Defendants - LIM SHANG, LI YAN, and MA YU DONG - those charged in the counterfeit goods trafficking counts include LIN JIE, FNU LNU, a/k/a "Lao Zhong," LIAO MING, LAO CAI, FNU LNU, a/k/a "Ah Wei," YI DONG, HUINA CHEN, a/k/a "David," ZHI XIONG QIU, a/k/a "William," FNU LNU, a/k/a "Zhou Ping," and FNU LNU, a/k/a "Zhong Ge."

Finally, the Lim Indictment includes forfeiture allegations, indicating that the United States will seek criminal forfeiture of criminal proceeds and properties owned by certain of the defendants in the event the Government obtains convictions for the offenses charged. The Lim Indictment seeks forfeiture in the total amount of $5 million from the Lim RICO Defendants.

THE WANG INDICTMENT

The Wang Indictment, which charges a total of 18 defendants, alleges that eight of the defendants, WANG SHAO FENG, a/k/a "Yi Fen," a/k/a "Yi Feng," a/k/a "Ah Fung," a/k/a "Yan Xie," CAO HONG, a/k/a "Ah Chui," a/k/a "Ah Shui," a/k/a "Ah Bui," a/k/a "Ah Boai," a/k/a "Zhang Shan," CAO WEI, a/k/a "Ah Muk," a/k/a "Ah Mak," a/k/a "Ah Mar," LIN FEI, a/k/a "Wen Jai," a/k/a "Wen Zi," a/k/a "Ohn Yang," CHEN LIANG, a/k/a "Wu Dei," HU ZI, a/k/a "Mustache," PAN PING CHENG, a/k/a "Chen Chen," a/k/a "Cheng Cheng," and ZENG ZHEN JIEN, a/k/a "Yi Jiu," a/k/a "Uncle" (the "Wang RICO Defendants"), were members and associates of a violent and organized criminal enterprise (the "Wang Organization").

Paralleling the Lim Indictment, the Wang Indictment charges that WANG SHAO FENG was the primary leader of the Wang Organization, and was responsible for, among other things, supervising the criminal activities of the other members of the Wang Organization, providing them with support and protection, and resolving disputes with other organized criminal groups in the New York City area.

The Wang Organization - like that headed by LIM - also used violence and threats of violence to resolve disputes, punish opponents, and protect turf.

The Wang Indictment specifically charges nine separate acts of racketeering activity in two counts, including, among other crimes, a conspiracy to murder and the attempted murder of two individuals ("Victim-1" and "Victim-2") on or about July 6, 2002; a conspiracy to use and the use of extortionate means to collect extensions of credit to various victims, by using threats of violence and actual physical violence; a conspiracy to smuggle and the smuggling of illegal aliens into the United States from the People's Republic of China; and a conspiracy to operate and the widespread operation of a lucrative illegal gambling business.

The Wang Indictment also charges two counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, in connection with the Wang Organization's violent activities in furtherance of its enterprise. Specifically, the RICO Indictment charges that, to maintain and increase their positions in the Wang Organization, CAO HONG, CAO WEI, and LIN FEI attempted to murder two individuals.

In addition to the racketeering charges, nine defendants listed in the Wang Indictment are charged with conspiring to smuggle illegal aliens from the People's Republic of China to the United States for profit. In addition to the five Wang RICO Defendants - WANG SHAO FENG, CAO HONG, HU ZI, PAN PING CHENG, ZENG ZHEN JIEN - those charged in the alien smuggling counts include WU JIAN, SHAO YONG WANG, a/k/a "Sister Yong," a/k/a "Mei Mei," HONG DI, and YI GUANG.

Moreover, 12 defendants listed in the Wang Indictment are charged with participating in a conspiracy to conduct and operate an illegal gambling business, and with operation of an illegal gambling business. In addition to all of the Wang RICO Defendants, those charged in the gambling counts include FNU LNU, a/k/a "Di Di," a/k/a "Dong Xu," a/k/a "Yi Hui," WANG GANG YONG, a/k/a "Yi Gua," CHUNG K. NGAI, a/k/a "Sister Guo Feng," and LIN SHAN RI.

The Wang Indictment also seeks forfeiture in the total amount of $6 million from the Wang RICO Defendants.

THE BI JUAN WU INDICTMENT

The third indictment unsealed today charges an additional five defendants - BI JUAN WU, NONG JIANG, RONG ZHENG, JEN MEI ZHENG, a/k/a "Mei," and FNU LNU, a/k/a "Cat Sister," - with, variously, conspiring to smuggle, and smuggling illegal aliens from the People's Republic of China to the United States for fees of up to $35,000 for each alien; conspiring to hold aliens hostage pending the payment of exorbitant smuggling fees; and laundering the proceeds from their illegal alien smuggling activities by transferring funds to and from China.

MAXIMUM PENALTIES

Racketeering or racketeering conspiracy, upon conviction, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment on each count and $250,000 in fines, or twice the gross gain or loss as a result of the offense. For each count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, the maximum sentence is 10 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss.

For each count of operating an illegal gambling business or conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, the maximum sentence is 5 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss. For each count of alien smuggling or alien smuggling conspiracy, the maximum sentence is 5 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss. For each count of alien smuggling committed for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, the minimum sentence is 3 years' imprisonment, and the maximum sentence is 10 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss. For each count of extortion or extortion conspiracy, the maximum sentence is 20 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss.

Trafficking in counterfeit goods carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and $2 million in fines or twice the gross gain or loss. Conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods carries a maximum sentence of 5 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss. Conspiracy to misuse a passport carries a maximum sentence of 5 years' imprisonment and $250,000 in fines or twice the gross gain or loss. Conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and $500,000 in fines or twice the value of the funds involved.

Hostage taking conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release. Mr. KELLEY praised the efforts of ICE, the FBI, and the NYPD in this investigation, stating that the charges unsealed today in the three Indictments deal a powerful blow to these long-entrenched Chinese organized crime groups. Mr. KELLEY indicated that the investigations in all the cases are continuing.

Assistant United States Attorneys PREET BHARARA, JONATHAN KOLODNER, and ELIZABETH CARPENTER are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Wang Indictment, the Lim Indictment, and the Bi Juan Wu Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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