A 39-year-old Fountain Valley businessman was sentenced Monday to two years of probation for lying to an FBI agent in a loan- sharking investigation that also led to charges against a Westminster police officer.
Kevin Khanh Tuan Do agreed in a deal with federal prosecutors in June to plead guilty to lying to the FBI, with other charges being dismissed. Co- defendant Anthony Duong Donner, 29, of Westminster, was a patrol officer with the Westminster Police Department, and is awaiting trial next June.
Do’s attorney, Shaun Khojayan, described his client in court papers as “very sorry,” and that his arrest in August 2013 came, “as a surprise to his family who describe him as a trusting, soft-hearted and good husband and father.”
The Rev. Joseph Van Vu, associate pastor at St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church in Winnetka, said he has known Do for more than a decade.
“He is a very friendly and generous man, always trying to help those who turn to him for assistance in whatever way he can,” Vu said in a letter to U.S. District Judge David O. Carter. “For instance, he contributes to charitable causes for the poor people in South Vietnam.”
Donner and Do were accused of collecting extensions of credit by extortion. Donner is accused of using his badge to enforce collections on loans issued by Do, according to the FBI.
An FBI complaint against the two alleged a business owner received a $170,000 loan from Do and made payments at a rate of 5 percent a month and 60 percent annually. When the business owner fell behind on payments, Do was accused of instructing Donner to use “police enforcement actions” against the business, the complaint alleged.
— City News Service