Man To Plead Guilty For Running Illegal Casinos In Orange County

SANTA ANA, CA — A 47-year-old Fountain Valley man plead guilty to federal offenses including the operation of an illegal casino and bribing a law enforcement officer.

Niem Ngoc Ha, also known as "Dung Body" reportedly paid some $128,000 in cash bribes to a Santa Ana Police Department officer to avoid legal consequences for operating underground casinos. Officer Steven Lopez received payments over the course of six months in 2020, according to Thom Mrozek, the director of media relations for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

In the plea agreement filed in Santa Ana federal court, Ha admitted that he opened and operated four illegal casinos in the Santa Ana area, Mrozek said.

Ha said he conspired with three others to operate the gambling dens. The underground casinos featured video gambling machines, generated thousands of dollars in profits each day, officials said.

The casino became the site of various acts of violence, Mrozek said.

In one instance, Ha was accused of directing a co-conspirater to physically assault a casino guest who had reportedly started a fight. A worker was also shot in the neck in another case, according to the plea agreement.

Ha faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to Mrozek. He is expected to formally enter the guilty pleas in court in the coming weeks.

Three other suspected co-conspirators are scheduled to face trial in May.