Vietnamese man who says he didn’t know better gets 4 years

John Curran

Friday, June 9, 2000 | 3:22 a.m.

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - A loanshark who allegedly preyed on desperate gamblers was sentenced to four years in prison Friday. His wife, who also was charged, got probation.

Tri Cong "Tony" Van, 40, of Egg Harbor Township, paid $4,000 to get a gambler's 1995 Mercedes out of hock and lent her another $4,000 to go back to the tables. She went back to Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino and lost that money, too.

The woman contacted police after being told she would have to pay $12,000 to get the car back.

"This individual and his wife engaged in a long-term criminal usury operation," said Deputy Attorney General Tama Hughes, who prosecuted the two.

Van, a Vietnamese immigrant and self-described compulsive gambler, allegedly charged 400 percent annual interest on loans to Asian gamblers who came to him when they went broke at the tables.

He routinely hocked his own belongings at "cash for gold" shops along the casino strip, paying 10 percent interest, and didn't believe there was anything illegal about charging high interest to others, defense attorney Amy Weintrob said.

"In Mr. Van's culture, this is not necessarily considered a crime," she told the judge. "It was standard practice for him."

The victim, whose name wasn't released, was referred to Van by a pawnbroker who wouldn't accept her car as collateral, Weintrob said. He refused her three times before agreeing to help.

"He helps this woman and ends up getting convicted and loses his entire life," Weintrob said.

Van and his wife, Kieu Duong, 26, were arrested Feb. 4, 1999, at the Trump Taj Mahal's poker room when the victim - accompanied by an undercover officer - paid the $12,000 to them.

Van was charged with criminal usury, Duong with possession of a usurious instrument. More than $100,000 was seized from the couple in a raid at their home and the woman's car was returned, Weintrob said.

On Friday, Superior Court Judge Manuel Greenberg sentenced Duong to 18 months probation and ordered her to stay out of casinos.

She sat crying in the gallery, accompanied by the couple's 4-year-old daughter, as Van's sister, Terry Van, told the judge Van wasn't a member of organized crime or a loanshark, just a family man. "I beg you with all my heart to grant leniency to my brother."

"I'm sorry for the crime I did," Van told Greenberg. "If I'd known, I'd never have jeopardized my family."

After Greenberg pronounced the sentence, two deputies began handcuffing Van to take him into custody. In the gallery, Duong used her hands to cover her daughter's eyes so she wouldn't see it.

"She (the victim) got her vehicle back," Weintrob said afterward. "They're the ones who lost."