Mai Vang sentenced to 54 months in prison

Nyem ntawm no mus nyeem tsab xov xwm lus hmoob

Mai Vang, 51, was sentenced to 54 months in prison for four counts of theft-by-swindle for an elaborate ginseng farm fraud scheme she concocted, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Wednesday. She pleaded guilty to those charges June 30.

In addition to the prison time she must serve, Vang must also pay restitution of more than $480,000 to the nine victims she defrauded.

Vang had eluded arrest for two years after Hennepin County charges were filed against her in December 2017. She was found in Georgia in March 2020 and brought back to Minnesota.

According to the Hennepin County charges, between 2012 and 2014, Vang orchestrated a fraud scheme in which she convinced members of the Minnesota Hmong community to invest in a ginseng farm she claimed to own near Wausau, Wisconsin. The fraud resulted in total losses to nine victims of more than $480,000, including one couple who knew Vang from church and gave her their life savings.

Read the related article.

Maiv Vaj uas yog tus neeg muaj hnub nyoog 51 xyoo, tau txais lub txim yam yuav raug mus kaw ntev li ntawm 54 lub hli hauv tsev laj cuj los ntawm plaub lub txim kev ua tub sab vim txhob txwm dag tib txog cov lag luam ua ginseng uas yog nws lub tswv yim los dag tib neeg, raws li Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman tau tshaj tawm hnub Wednesday. Nws tau lees txhaum rau tag nrho cov txim ntawv thaum lub 6 hli hnub tim 30.

Dhau li ntawm txoj kev mus raug kaw tim tsev laj cuj, Maiv Vaj yuav tau them $480, 000 rov qab rau cov neeg uas raug nws dag zaum no.

Maiv Vaj kuj tau khiav nkaum ntev li ntawm ob lub xyoos tom qab Hennepin County tau tsub cov txim foob nws thaum lub 12 hlis xyoo 2017. Lawv mus nrhiav tau nws nram lub xeev Georgia thaum lub 3 hlis xyoo 2020 ces thiaj li tau coj nws rov qab los rau hauv lub xeev Minnesota.

Raws li Hennepin County cov txim uas lawv tsub, thaum xyoo 2012 txog rau xyoo 2014, Maiv Vaj tau tawm lub tswv yim dag tib neeg uas nws tau ntxias cov pej xeem Hmoob nyob hauv lub xeev Minnesota los tso nyiaj ua lag luam rau txoj kev cog gingseng uas nws dag hais tias nws yog tus tswv ntawm cov teb ginseng nyob ze hauv Wausau, Wisconsin. Txoj kev dag no uas rau cov neeg raug dag muaj li 9 leeg tau poob tshaj li ntawm $480,000, nrog rau ib khub niam txiv uas nkawv paub Maiv Vaj vim lawv mus teev hawm vaj tswv rau tib lub tuam tsev es nkawv tau muab tag nrho nkawv cov nyiaj nkawv khwv tiam no tag nrho rau nws.