News : Two years after raid, Peony owner's case still in federal civil, criminal courts

Nearly two years after Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers raided his Peony Family Restaurants in Vinton and Toledo, owner Chan Gia Duong faces the possibility of both federal civil and criminal trials.

Downtown Vinton shoppers and the lunch time crowd were surprised on a Sunny early afternoon in mid-November 2008 when ICE officers, accompanied by Iowa State Troopers, arrived at the restaurant during the lunch hour and suddenly announced the business was closed. Customers were ushered out with carry-out boxes. Some employees, suspected illegal immigrants, were taken into custody by ICE agents.

That raid was the beginning of two federal court cases, a civil case and a criminal investigation.

The civil case began when investigators discovered approximately $1 million worth of cash and jewelry .

After that raid, ICE agents detained four employees from Mexico and China from Vinton and Toledo, where Duong owns another restaurant. No one was arrested on criminal charges at the time.

The government later filed forfeiture actions against the couple's homes, one on O Avenue in Vinton along with houses in Illinois, Florida and California.

Officers, according to court documents filed in 2008, also seized more than $750,000 from bank accounts as well as cash that was kept in safety-deposit boxes, and dozens of pieces of jewelry.

Prosecutors are also pursuing $759,485 in cash seized from bank accounts and safety-deposit boxes, as well as two vehicles and 61 pieces of jewelry it found in connection with the investigation.

Duong’s lawyer, William Kelly, asked the court to delay the forfeiture proceedings in June of this year, claiming that U.S. Attorneys are still considering criminal charges against his client.

Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles postponed the forfeiture actions for five months, giving the attorneys until November to file reports on the status of the criminal case.

Court records indicate that uring the investigation following the raid, ICE agents found $88,728 in cash in Duong’s Vinton home and $309,100 in cash in a safety-deposit box in Duong's name at U.S. Bank in Vinton.