MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Seng Xiong, 49, a resident of Maplewood, Minnesota, has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for operating an affinity scheme targeting members of the Hmong community.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Xiong, who was found guilty on January 26, 2017, following an eight-day jury trial, was sentenced today before Judge Susan Richard Nelson in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul, Minn.
As proven at trial, Xiong conducted a fraud scheme through his organization ‘Hmong Tebchaws,’ which translates to ‘Hmong Country,’ in which members of the Hmong community were directed to deposit $3,000 to $5,000 into a bank account held in the name of Seng Xiong.
In exchange for the payments, victims were promised 10 acres of land, a house, and many other benefits in a future country that would be established as a Hmong homeland somewhere in Southeast Asia.
Xiong claimed to be working closely with the United States government and the United Nations to establish the new Hmong country, and through a series of YouTube videos and nationwide conference calls, he promoted his scheme in the Hmong language, claiming that he was working with high-ranking officials who had ‘approved’ or ‘authorized’ his proposal and had arranged for land to be set aside for Xiong and his followers.
At trial, it was revealed that Xiong offered several investment options that purported to represent varying levels of return that ‘founders’ would be able to receive on their investment in the new country. Investments between $3,000 and $5,000 would guarantee the investor and his or her future generations, land, a house, free healthcare, free education, and government financial assistance for people over 65 years of age, as well as a return on that investment equal to a percentage of the income generated by the new Hmong country.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Saint Paul Police Department, United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, and Appleton Police Department.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota would like to thank the Saint Paul Police Department, United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, and Appleton Police Department for their assistance in this case.
Xiong was also ordered to pay $1,226,466.00 in restitution to victims.
Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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