NEW YORK: A California man was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for his involvement in smuggling 44 Chinese immigrants into California and Arizona in a span of more than six years.
Zhu Qu “Steven” Tan was one of several suspects in a long-term undercover investigation by federal agents between 2005 and 2011. US District Judge G. Murray Snow determined Tan was extensively involved in harboring undocumented immigrants and dealing with large sums of money related to their transport.
Tan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens in June 2014, but he did not admit to any particular transactions, court records show.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Koehler highlighted 11 specific incidents in which Tan delivered money, received undocumented Chinese immigrants and was present for discussions about fraudulently obtaining immigration documents. Three of the incidents involved immigrants who were smuggled through the U.S/Mexico border near San Luis, Arizona.
In one incident, sheriff’s deputies in North Carolina stopped Tan while he was driving a rental car and seized a $871,000, which he admitted he was transporting from New York City to Houston, records show.
“I have done much wrong, and I have caused a lot of people a lot of trouble, and for that I am remorseful,” Tan said Monday through a Cantonese court interpreter. He asked for leniency so he can continue on with his life.
Tan’s attorney told the courtroom Tan was not a supervisor in these operations and was not in charge of making any decisions.
Tan paid $275,000 in forfeiture, and will start his prison sentence in California after his daughter’s graduation in June.
In accepting the government’s recommended sentence, Snow said he considered the sentences for the other defendants in the case, the forfeiture Tan paid and fact that he does not pose a dangerous threat to the public.
