los angelesAn Asian man in Wollongong (Woodland Hills) was arrested on the 16th and faces a range of charges including extorting protection money from Koreatown merchants and sometimes using violence against merchants who refuse to pay It was lying
According to the Federal Central DistrictprosecutorStatement issued by the Office, Federal Department of Homeland Security Agents and Los AngelesPoliceBureau police officers worked together to arrest Daekun Cho, 38, on the 16th, according to a federal criminal complaint filed last week. The indictment charges Cho with interference with business through threats or violence, and he made his first appearance today in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.
According to the indictment, the investigation found that Cho used threats to disrupt businesses in Koreatown. The investigation began a year ago when the defendants demanded protection money from Koreatown karaoke businesses as well as female singers employed by the karaoke venues and their drivers.
To further implement the blackmail scheme, Cho declared to victimized businesses and individuals that if they did not pay security fees, he would shoot them, resorting to carjackings, kidnappings and other physical violence,
The indictment describes incidents over the past year in which four victims were assaulted and another victim was threatened. The first victim, a lead singer’s driver, was beaten with a baseball bat by Cho and another man on May 8, 2021, after refusing to pay a security fee following an increase in security fees. was left with an arm, and multiple wounds.
In another incident at a karaoke bar last August, Cho asked the frontman’s driver to leave, and as the driver and two frontmen left, they heard gunshots, one of which was wounded in the neck. It was done. The incident is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to the indictment. A fifth victim told investigators that he had been paying Cho for four years and had decided to stop paying Cho before Cho beat him and stole $1,000 from him.
The indictment details how the victim cooperated with law enforcement to pay Cho $500 for protection on February 16. Prosecutors said the counts of intimidation and violently interfering with business could carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
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