Jan.07, 2010

A Bethesda man who prosecutors say was involved in a scheme to flip hundreds of homes — and avoid payment of between $7 million and $20 million in taxes — pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of conspiring to impede the Internal Revenue Service, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Thanh Hoang, 64, began purchasing foreclosed properties at auction in 1999, including properties in Potomac, Silver Spring, Beltsville and elsewhere in Maryland, according to the statement. According to his plea agreement, Hoang and three family members then resold the properties at a profit, using an escrow account for the purchase and sale of properties.

Hoang then transferred money from the escrow account to business entities controlled by the family to conceal his financial interest in the properties and avoid paying taxes, according to his plea agreement. Hoang was charged with tax evasion, money laundering and concealing assets from bankruptcy court when he was indicted in May 2008. Hoang did not plead guilty to any of the other charges. The money laundering charges would have carried up to 10 years in prison.

Calls to Hoang's federal public defender Lisa Lunt were not immediately returned.

Three other defendants were indicted May 28, 2008, in connection with the case, including Hoang's wife Minh-Vu Hoang of Bethesda, her sister Van Thanh Vu, also of Bethesda, and Van Thanh Vu's ex-husband Hai Duc Ngo of Virginia. Vickie LeDuc, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Maryland, said proceedings against the other three defendants are ongoing.

LeDuc said the Justice Department has "seen an increase in these types of crimes," but declined to speculate whether that is a result of an increase of foreclosed property on the market.

The government estimates a tax loss of between $7 and $20 million resulted from the hundreds of properties Hoang flipped between 2000 and 2005. Hoang says the number is between $2.5 and $7 million, according to the statement from the Justice Department. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow will determine the amount of loss at Hoang's June 14 sentencing, where Hoang faces up to five years in prison.