A Houston socialite
is in jail right now, caught up in a scandalous money laundering bust involving
illegal gambling.
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A
Houston socialite is in jail caught up in a scandalous money laundering bust
involving illegal gambling.
Katherine Le is charged along with five other people, including her own husband, with running this gambling scheme. According to court documents, they made and concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Katherine Le is charged along with five other people, including her own husband, with running this gambling scheme. According to court documents, they made and concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But she's traded in her designer duds for a jail jumpsuit, facing a money laundering charge.
Her five alleged partners in crime are in jail too, all
facing the same charge.
Katherine Le and her
husband Hao Nguyen are pictured at their wedding. The pair were both
arrested Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, and charged with money laundering in
connection with a Houston gameroom.
According to court
documents, "they did unlawfully, pursuant to a single scheme and
continuing course of conduct, knowingly acquire, maintain an interest in, and
conceal and possess and transport and receive funds of the value of at least
$300,000."
Simply put, the DA's Office says this was a gambling operation.
Police executed a search warrant on Le's home in a gated community earlier this week. The arrests came Tuesday, just days after court documents say her and her husband's divorce was finalized.
All six are being held here at Harris County Jail on $1 million bond each. Sources say lawyers will try to get that reduced Friday.
Simply put, the DA's Office says this was a gambling operation.
Police executed a search warrant on Le's home in a gated community earlier this week. The arrests came Tuesday, just days after court documents say her and her husband's divorce was finalized.
All six are being held here at Harris County Jail on $1 million bond each. Sources say lawyers will try to get that reduced Friday.
***
Six, including
socialite, charged with money laundering
Different types of
gaming machines, including "8 liner" machines, have been seized in
past raids. Most are similar to Las Vegas-style clot machines.
Six people,
including a Houston socialite, are expected to appear Friday in a Harris County
courtroom, accused of money laundering in connection with a Houston gameroom.
Katherine Le, a
well-known jewelry designer in Houston's social circles, and her husband, Hao
Dinh Nguyen, 51, were arrested Thursday and charged with organized criminal
activity. They are both in jail in lieu of bail of $1 million each.
Le, 47, was honored
as one of Houston's best dressed in 2010 and has been a perennial figure at
Houston fashion shows and in area fashion news.
Four others were
also arrested in Thursday's sweep: Thinh Nguyen, 63; Bich Thuy Nguyen, 46;
Urixie Palacios-Juarez, 35; and Jose Palacios-Juarez, 28.
Assistant Harris
County District Attorney Lester Blizzard declined to comment on the case
Thursday. He said he expected details of the allegations to come to light in
court Friday.
All six are accused
of concealing more than $300,000 in proceeds from illegal
gambling. All remain
in jail on bail set at $1 million, a common amount in high-dollar white-collar
cases. If convicted of the first-degree felony, all face a maximum punishment
of life in prison.
Le's husband was
arrested last year with two other men in connection with three gamerooms. Those
charges were later dismissed after a grand jury decided there was not enough
evidence to indict.
In that case,
Houston police vice squad officers played "8 liner" video gambling
machines at Diamond 777 at 2395 Texas 6 South, Royal 777 at 1380 Westheimer and
Window Club Video Game at 9366 Richmond. The 8-liner gambling machines are
similar to Las Vegas-style slot machines and are generally illegal in Texas.
However, private
gamerooms that tightly control access have proliferated much faster than
authorities have been able to shut them down. Prosecutors and police long have
bemoaned the difficulties for investigators to witness illegal activity in
order to secure convictions.
When asked if
arresting alleged owners and operators on money laundering charges is a new
approach to try to combat the enterprises, Blizzard would not comment.
Brian Rogers
Jewelry designer
facing money laundering charge goes before judge
Katherine Le's
collection once sold at Neiman Marcus
http://www.click2houston.com/news/jewelry-designer-facing-money-laundering-charge-goes-before-judge/35627330
Police arrested Le,
her husband, Hao Nguyen, Urixie Palacios-Juarez, Jose Palacios-Juarez, Thinh
Nguyen and Bic Thuy Nguyen.
Prosecutors said the
six allegedly ran three game rooms in the Houston area, where they made and
concealed large amounts of cash proceeds from the illegal gaming operation.
"There was a
great deal of money that moved through these accounts. The cash that went
through the primary four accounts was $360,000, but of course, there's a great
deal more to it than that," said Lester Blizzard, an assistant Harris
County district attorney.
The cash that
allegedly came out of the game rooms was deposited in the various accounts and
turned into money orders, gold and other assets that could be moved quite
easily.
The six had been
under investigation for the past two years, and prosecutors say during that
time, the scheme they were running generated over $5 million.
"Prosecutors
said they'll start working on copies of the evidence, so we'll start going
through everything," Jimmy Ortiz, a lawyer for three of the six.
Friday, a judge
reduced Le's bond to $150,000.
Andy Cerota
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