MAN SENTENCED FOR VIOLENT ROBBERIES OF ASIAN BUSINESS OWNERS

FROM:  FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Monday, April 23, 2012
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 400 Months in Prison for Role in Violent Home Invasion Robberies of Business Owners in Four States
WASHINGTON – Tahn Le, 44, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 400 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to commit violent home invasion robberies of successful Asian business owners in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis also ordered Le to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and to pay $112,689 in restitution.   After a four-day trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found Tahn Le guilty on Jan. 20, 2012, of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce through multiple home invasion robberies and related firearms violations.  To date, seven co-defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing: Teo Van Bui, Buu Huu Truong, Thach Van Nguyen, Den Van Nguyen, Denise Novelli, Sidney Biggs and Hung T. Ngo.

According to evidence presented at trial, Le and his co-defendants targeted successful Asian business owners in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia for home invasion robberies because they believed that the owners stored significant amounts of business proceeds in their homes.  In carrying out the robberies, the defendants brandished handguns, tied up, and in some instances, beat their victims, and stole business proceeds as well as expensive jewelry.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys John S. Han and Robert Livermore of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.

The case was investigated by the FBI; the Poconos Township, Penn., Police Department; the Freehold Borough, N.J., Police Department; the Monroe Township, N.J., Police Department; and the Fairfax County, Va., Police Department.  Additional assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.