BOSTON—A husband and wife convicted of running a $27 million pyramid scheme that prosecutors said bilked about 500 victims, mostly Cambodian immigrants, have been sentenced to terms of 35 and 20 years in prison.
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Judge Richard G. Stearns on Wednesday sentenced 57-year-old James Bunchan, who had homes in Attleboro and Quincy as well as North Miami Beach, Fla., to 35 years in prison for running the scheme that prosecutors said lured victims as far away as California. His 61-year-old wife, Seng Tan, who also has a home in Burnsville, Minn., was sentenced to 20 years after she was also convicted of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors alleged that Bunchan and Tan, who are of Cambodian ancestry, told the victims that they would receive $300 a month for life, and the lives of their children, for every $26,000 they invested. In many instances, they allegedly persuaded investors to mortgage their homes to get money to invest.
The pair made the payments to investors for a time, allegedly to convince them their investment was legitimate and get them to persuade others to invest. The payments, however, eventually stopped.
Bunchan spent investors' money to finance a lavish lifestyle which included luxury cars, trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas as well as over $6 million gambling at casinos, prosecutors said.
"The victims are hard working people who were led to believe that they were making safe and responsible investments," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said in a statement. "Sadly a number of these victims are now facing the loss of their homes and financial ruin."
A third defendant, Christian Rochon, 56, of Warwick, R.I., will be sentenced separately. Rochon pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme before the case went to trial and testified against Bunchan and Tan.
Bunchan is also awaiting federal trial on charges that he tried to hire a hitman to kill Rochon and 11 witnesses to prevent them from testifying against him.
Tan's attorney, James S. Dilday, said he would appeal her sentence, arguing that his client was made a scapegoat for her husband's activity.
"The sentence is disproportionate to the crimes she is accused of," Dilday said, adding that 20 years is "tantamount to a life sentence to her."
Bunchan's attorney, Robert George, did not immediately return an after hours call seeking comment.
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