SEATTLE — A man who wanted his nephew in Vietnam and six others killed was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison, according to federal officials.
Forty-eight-year-old Long Van Nguyen, of University Place, Washington, hired an assassin to carry out the murders. But what Nguyen didn’t know was that he was dealing with undercover federal agents posing as hit men, officials said.
Nguyen pleaded guilty in September of violating the Conspiracy to Kill Persons in a Foreign Country and Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, according to U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.
At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said, “he committed two very serious offenses. . . you cannot dismiss this as mere puffery.”
According to records in the case, this is what happened:
- In March 2012, Nguyen solicited an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent to assassinate people in Vietnam.
- Nguyen told others that he had sent $100,000 to a nephew in Vietnam, instructing him to spend only the interest earned by the money, officials said. Instead, the nephew spent all the money so Nguyen wanted him killed.
- The undercover agent told Nguyen that he had associates in Vietnam who could do the killings.
- Nguyen agreed to a plan whereby his other nephew ‘Bon’ would show the “assassins” who Nguyen wanted killed.
- After identifying two proposed victims, Nguyen then instructed the undercover agent that he wanted the nephew ‘Bon’ killed as well.
- An undercover FBI agent posed as a possible assassin in the scheme.
- Nguyen paid the undercover FBI agent additional money for the hit, and added four more people to the list of those he wanted killed.
- He provided pictures to the undercover HSI special agent of the four he wanted killed.
Nguyen was arrested on July 7, 2012 and has been in custody ever since.
“Nguyen was adamant he wanted these people dead,” said Brad Bench special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Seattle. “HSI and Vietnamese authorities had to act fast to save lives.”