Ppassim Elder, Murder and Extortion, New York 2017

Ppassim Elder, Dwayne Ling, and Frederick McCoy were all charged with the murder of a Queens business owner in front of his son, as well as the extortion of that father and son, in a four-count indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn.

The indictment alleges that Elder exploited a business owner’s need for a loan and sent his enforcers to try to collect it, ultimately leading to a senseless and tragic murder. The charges against Elder, Ling, and McCoy include murder and extortionate collection of credit conspiracy and extortionate collection of credit.

Elder, who was known as ‘Sam’ and ‘Big Sam,’ gave the murder victim’s son a loan, which the son used to support the business. However, by March 2017, Elder demanded full repayment of the loan, but the son could not afford to repay it because much of the money had been used to purchase merchandise for Garden Valley.

In response, Elder began a campaign of intimidation against the son and his family. Among other things, Elder paid the defendant Mahdi Abdel-Rahim to throw a rock through a window of the home of the son and his father. When the rock did not lead to repayment of the loan, Elder sent Ling, McCoy, and a third coconspirator into Garden Valley, where the perpetrators brandished a firearm, pistol-whipped the son across his head, and fatally shot the father in the face.

All four defendants are charged with extortionate collection of credit conspiracy and extortionate collection of credit. Elder, Ling, and McCoy are also charged with brandishing a firearm in furtherance of those crimes of violence and causing the death of another through use of a firearm.

If convicted of the murder charge or firearm charge, Elder, McCoy, and Ling face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. If convicted of the extortion charge, Abdel-Rahim faces a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment. The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Ppassim Elder was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio on March 2, 2018, and is being transferred in custody to the Eastern District of New York. Dwayne Ling was arrested on March 1, 2018, and ordered detained. Frederick McCoy was arrested yesterday and will be arraigned this afternoon in federal court in Brooklyn before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. Mahdi Abdel-Rahim was arrested on March 1, 2018, and released on a secured bond.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.