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Friday, August 12, 2005
Vietnamese victims of scam seek restitution
Dozens at meeting over immigration ploy
Dozens of possible victims of an immigration scam that had plagued the Vietnamese community of greater Seattle gathered at a local temple this week to seek restitution from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting the case.
More than 40 people who said they were victims or knew of victims of No Van Nguyen, 37, a local resident who posed as a U.S. immigration official, came to the Co Lam Temple in Seattle Wednesday night to reclaim their share of the $102,000 seized by federal authorities at the time of Nguyen's arrest last January.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Lincoln said the intent of the meeting was not to gather immigration data, as some Vietnamese residents had feared, but to help repay the immigrants who had given Nguyen between $500 and $3,000 each for legal services, such as help with citizenship applications.
"We think the meeting was a fabulous success," Lincoln said. "We worried that (victims) would be afraid that this would be an opportunity to look at their immigration status. This is not. This is about returning money that was stolen from these people."
Last month, Nguyen pleaded guilty to four counts of impersonating a federal employee. Law enforcement officials, however, had a difficult time tracking down victims of Nguyen's scheme.
Lincoln said the U.S. Attorney's Office was afraid that victims would be cautious about coming forward with their cases because of fears of deportation or historical and cultural barriers.
Long Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese Friendship Association, a social services agency in Seattle, said Vietnamese immigrants are traditionally cautious of dealing with the government because of their history of dealing with corruption from the communist regime in Vietnam.
"It is very hard to get people to come to government officials because immigrants are very afraid," said Long Nguyen. "That is why there needs to be more of an open dialogue between law enforcement and the Vietnamese community."
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