Houston Couple Sentenced for RICO Employment Scheme

Houston’s Lina Sun and Chenglun Ma were sentenced to federal prison for their role in a RICO conspiracy, an employment referral scheme targeting Chinese restaurants across the nation.

Both aged 55 and 58 respectively, they ran the ‘Hong Li employment agency’ in Houston for over a decade. Their primary operation was placing illegal aliens as food service workers in eateries spanning 20 states, including Maine. The most active participants were identified in Jefferson County, Texas.

The duo pleaded guilty on June 3, 2014, to RICO conspiracy and faced sentences of 18 months for Sun and 13 months for Ma by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield. They must also forfeit $2.2 million and a residence at 8715 Bellaire Blvd. in Houston.

The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service, and local law enforcement from Houston, Port Author, and Beaumont. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft prosecuted the case.

Federal indictments were issued on November 7, 2013, charging 32 individuals for their involvement in similar conspiracy charges.

U.S. Attorney John M. Bales and Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Houston, announced the sentencing today, underscoring the Department of Justice’s commitment to combating employment fraud and human trafficking.