Niem Ngoc Ha, Illegal Casinos, California 2023
SANTA ANA, California – A Fountain Valley man, Niem Ngoc Ha, aka 'Dung Body,' 47, has agreed to plead guilty to federal offenses for operating illegal gambling dens and paying $128,000 in cash bribes to a Santa Ana Police officer to avoid law enforcement scrutiny of his underground casinos, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court.
Ha, who is expected to formally enter the guilty pleas in court in the coming weeks, will face up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, operating an illegal gambling business, and bribery.
The plea agreement details that Ha opened and operated four illegal casinos commonly called 'nets' (if they are in a commercial district) or 'slaphouses' (for those in residential areas), all of which were located in Santa Ana. He admitted to conspiring with three others to operate the casinos, which featured video gambling machines and generated thousands of dollars in profits each day.
Ha acknowledged that acts of violence took place at the casinos, including a case where he directed a co-conspirator to physically assault a casino patron who had started a fight, and another incident where a worker at another casino was shot in the neck, according to the plea agreement.
Ha also admitted that over the course of about six months in 2020 he paid approximately $128,000 to then-Santa Ana Police Officer Steven Lopez in an effort to protect his illicit casinos from law enforcement intervention. Lopez, who pleaded guilty in December 2020 to accepting the bribes and is no longer employed by the Santa Ana Police Department, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5, 2023.
The investigation into illegal gambling houses in Orange County is being conducted under the auspices of the Orange County Asian Organized Crime Task Force, with primary investigatory agencies including the FBI, the Santa Ana Police Department, the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Gambling Control, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Niem Ngoc Ha's case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel S. Lim and Benjamin D. Lichtman of the Santa Ana Branch Office.
Mandatory Facts:
- Defendant: Niem Ngoc Ha
- Criminal Charges: Conspiracy, Operating an Illegal Gambling Business, Bribery
- City and State: Santa Ana, California
- Exacted Date: 2023
- Sentence: Up to 20 years in federal prison
- Dollar Amounts: $128,000
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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