Wing Wo Ma, Bribery & Murder, California 2013

Wing Wo Ma, a 52-year-old Oakland resident, is facing a long list of charges, including bribery and murder. A federal grand jury in San Francisco filed a Third Superseding indictment, adding bribery to the list of crimes pending against Ma, a/k/a Mark Ma, a/k/a Fat Mark.

The new indictment amends drug distribution charges originally brought on October 21, 2015, and conspiracy and murder charges filed on April 6, 2017. Ma is accused of being involved in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana between January and October of 2013, possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug conspiracy, and using a firearm to cause the death of two people: Jim Tat Kong and Cindy Bao Feng Che.

Ma has been charged with one count each of conspiracy to cultivate and distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, use of a firearm causing murder, and use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The indictment charges Ma with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 666, 1343, and 1346.

According to the indictment, Ma bribed an Alameda County District Attorney's Office Investigator to protect Ma from prosecution and investigation by law enforcement agencies. Ma gave things of value to the investigator, including airfare for multiple trips to Las Vegas, free accommodation at high-end suites and hotel rooms at Las Vegas casinos, music concert tickets, and use of a new Mercedes Benz.

The indictment charges Ma with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum of three years of supervised release. However, any sentence following a conviction of Ma would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Ma faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to 40 years imprisonment for conspiracy to cultivate and distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, a maximum lifetime imprisonment for use of a firearm causing murder, and a maximum life imprisonment for use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Alioto and William Frentzen are prosecuting these cases with the assistance of Adria Trigovcich and Bridget Kilkenny. Ma is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/federal-bribery-charges-added-list-crimes-pending-against-oakland-resident-wing-wo-ma