News : Duong pleads guilty in immigration case

On December 14, 2010, Chan Gia Duong, 43, the owner of the Peony Chinese restaurant in Vinton, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to harbor aliens for commercial gain and filing a false 2007 tax return.

At the plea hearing, Duong admitted he conspired to hire and harbor illegal aliens at Peony restaurants he operated with his wife, Phung Ca Long, in Vinton and Tama. Duong also admitted he filed a false federal tax return for 2007 and substantially under-reported his income.

Long, 41, pleaded guilty on November 19, 2010, to conspiring to harbor aliens for commercial gain and making false statements to Medicaid relating to health care. At Long’s plea hearing, she admitted she conspired to hire illegal aliens at the restaurant she operated with Duong in Vinton. Long also admitted she made false statements to get $23,715.50 in health care benefits from Medicare. See the Vinton Today story about that guilty plea HERE.

Sentencings before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after presentence reports are prepared. Duong remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Duong faces a possible maximum sentence of 13 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, 4 years of supervised release following any imprisonment, costs of prosecution and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, and the Vinton Police Department.

Duong's plea is the culmination of an investigation that began in July of 2008, when Vinton police officers answered a call at the apartment above the Vinton Peony restaurant, where Duong housed some of his employees. In addition to the criminal charges, the couple also faced forfeiture of homes in Florida, California and Chicago as well as more than $750,000 found in bank accounts and safe deposit boxes during a search warrant executed in November of 2008. The plea agreements and the forfeiture agreements signed by Duong and Long allow them to keep their home in Vinton as well as their restaurants in Vinton and Tama. See the Vinton Today story about the forfeiture proceedings HERE.