LOS ANGELES – A California attorney has been charged with additional wire fraud counts, tax evasion, and identity theft charges in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury.
Stephen Young Kang, 46, of Newport Beach, is now charged in a 30-count superseding indictment that was returned yesterday afternoon by a federal grand jury in United States District Court in Los Angeles. The indictment charges Kang with 22 counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of tax evasion.
The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations that would require Kang to surrender ill-gotten gains if he is convicted of criminal charges. The new indictment re-alleges wire fraud and money laundering charges contained in the original indictment, which was filed on September 1 and alleged that Kang defrauded a corporation and a couple seeking to make investments related to applications for EB-5 visas.
The new fraud allegations concern three additional victims – including one who came forward in response to the FBI’s call for additional victims when Kang was initially indicted – who collectively suffered losses of more than $1 million. The three additional victims gave money to Kang for investment purposes, but the attorney allegedly used the money for his own personal and business expenses.
Kang is also charged with committing identity theft when he used the names and forged signatures of two individuals without legal authority during and in relation to the alleged fraud scheme. He is charged with receiving substantial taxable income and willfully attempting to evade paying his taxes in the years 2012 through 2014.
Kang was arrested on August 10 by special agents with the FBI and IRS – Criminal Investigation at Los Angeles International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Seoul, Korea. He is currently free on a $750,000 bond. Kang will be summoned to appear in United States District Court to be arraigned on the superseding indictment in the near future. At present, he is scheduled to go to trial in this case on November 3.
If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Kang faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each of the wire fraud charges, up to 10 years in prison for each of the money laundering offenses, five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges, and a mandatory two-year consecutive term of imprisonment for the identity theft charges.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. The case against Kang is the product of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS – Criminal Investigation.
Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Kang should contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
Related Federal Cases
- Nazaret Chakrian, ID Theft and Wire Fraud, California 2023 · Idaho
- Elizabeth Holmes, Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, California 2022 · California
- McKenzie Marie Earley, $10M Wire Fraud, C.D. California, 2023 · Louisiana
- Consuelo Connie Puente, Wire Fraud, California 2014 · Alaska
- Steven Alexander Bolden, Wire Fraud, California 2014 · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News