More indictments in chip theft ring

Electronic News, Oct 27, 1997

Los Angeles--A federal grand jury returned two indictments charging a dozen men with the attempted robberies of two Southern California computer businesses.

United States Attorney Nora M. Manella charged that the men have been linked to Asian organized crime syndicates. Two of the defendants, Chi Fei Luong and Johnny Gia Tram, were previously indicted in Los Angeles in relation to a takeover-style robbery. They were indicted in May on charges of robbing two computer businesses in Orange County, one of which netted more than $10 million in chips and is believed to be the largest computer-related theft in U.S. history.

The thefts are among the most recent in an ongoing series that earlier this year prompted a bipartisan congressional plea for more law enforcement emphasis on high-tech crime in Silicon Valley (EN, June 2). According to the American Electronics Association (AEA) high-tech thefts averaged about $500,000, the record being $12 million in chips and memory boards stolen in 1995 from Centron Electronics in Irvine, Calif. Chips have become like cash and their small size makes them easier to carry off than currency.

U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, D.-San Jose, noted that companies lose $1 million a week to high-tech crime. Ms. Lofgren--who is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee which oversees the FBI--headed up a recent five-member congressional delegation from Silicon Valley that urged FBI director Louis Freeh to consider establishing a full-fledged field office in San Jose, rather than the current satellite office to the main San Francisco office.

According to U.S. attorney Manella, the two indictments brought here last week are the fourth and fifth indictments brought by a grand jury in Los Angeles "against members of a large ring believed responsible for computer chip robberies along the West Coast." Grand juries in San Diego, San Francisco and Portland, Ore. have also indicted alleged members of the ring. The two grand jury indictments last week are the result of an ongoing investigation in California, coordinated by the FBI with assistance from the Alhambra, El Monte and Los Angeles Police Departments, as well as the Los Angeles and Orange Country Sheriff's Departments.

The first case involves the Nov. 11, 1995 attempted armed robbery of Solomon Technology in the City of Industry, Calif. The grand jury indicted six defendants allegedly involved in the robbery that was thwarted when an employee summoned police by activating an alarm.

Those indicted in the Solomon Technology robbery, in addition to Messrs. Luong and Tram, include Cuong Quang Thach, Kenghiep Nguyen, Thanh Hua and Dominic Trang. The charges in the indictment are conspiracy, attempted robbery and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

Three people were arrested in the Solomon Technology robbery and were subsequently convicted and sentenced in state court. Two of those have pleaded guilty to federal crimes associated with this robbery ring.

The second attempted robbery, which was allegedly planned as an effort to raise bail money for co-conspirators arrested in an earlier robbery, was at First Source International, a component reseller in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Messrs. Thach and Hua were indicted in connection with this robbery. Additionally, the grand jury charged: Hung Chi Duong, Hoang Minh Nguyen, Trung Minh Tran, Dat Van Pham, Qang Chan Lai and Tai Luc Su.