Vietnamese National And Member Of Multinational Media Company Charged With Participating In A Scheme To Launder At Least $67 Million In Fraud Proceeds

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Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Jonathan Mellone, the Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General ("DOL-OIG"); and Andrew Wroblewski, the Assistant Director of the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service ("DSS") Domestic Operations, announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging LE VAN HUNG, a/k/a "Hung Van Le," a/k/a "Van Hung Le," with conspiring with the Chief Financial Officer of a multinational media company headquartered in New York City to engage in a transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to benefit, among others, the media company. On Friday, HUNG was extradited from South Korea and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Marrero.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: "As alleged, Le Van Hung, while located in a foreign country, conspired with the Chief Financial Officer of a global newspaper and media company, to benefit the media company and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and other crime proceeds. In furtherance of the scheme, Hung allegedly stole the personal identification of U.S. residents to open and maintain financial accounts in order to launder fraud proceeds. The charges against and extradition of Hung reflect this Office's ongoing commitment to enforce the law against those who facilitate money laundering, even if located abroad, together with our foreign partners."

DOL-OIG Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone said: "An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving the Department of Labor's unemployment insurance program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard benefits intended for unemployed American workers."

DSS Domestic Operations Assistant Director Andrew Wroblewski said: "Protecting U.S. persons from international fraud schemes and safeguarding U.S. personal information and documentation, including passports, is critical to the Diplomatic Security Service's mission. We are firmly committed to partnering with our U.S. and international law enforcement colleagues to stop criminals from conspiring to commit identity fraud and protecting greater U.S. interests."

According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment:[1]

From at least in or about 2020, through in or about May 2024, HUNG, while working in a foreign office of a multinational media company headquartered in New York, New York (the "Media Company"), conspired with others, including the Chief Financial Officer of the Media Company, to participate in a sprawling, transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds to bank accounts in the names of the Media Company and related entities. In furtherance of the money laundering conspiracy, HUNG recruited and managed various co-conspirators, including co-conspirators who worked with the Media Company's "Make Money Online" team. HUNG also used, possessed, and transferred personal identification information and documents of U.S. residents in order to, among other things, open and maintain financial accounts that were used to launder fraud proceeds. In one particular instance, HUNG directed a co-conspirator to call a bank and falsely claim that the co-conspirator was the account holder of a certain account so that the bank would unlock the account and HUNG could move fraudulent proceeds out of the account.

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If you believe you are a victim of identity fraud perpetrated by HUNG, please contact [email protected], and find more information here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/united-states-v-le-van-hung.

HUNG, 29, of Vietnam, is charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, and one count of identity theft conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of DOL-OIG, DSS, and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Williams also thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with the International Criminal Division of the Korean Ministry of Justice to secure the arrest and extradition of Hung.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces ("OCDETF") operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The case is being handled by the Office's Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Deininger, Rebecca T. Dell, and Jane Kim are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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