BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered presentence investigations before determining the appropriate punishment for two Californians who admitted to human trafficking in the western North Dakota oil patch.
The case involved brothels disguised as massage parlors that operated between June 2010 and March 2014 in Minot, Dickinson and Williston. Authorities alleged that Trina Nguyen and Loc Tran lured four women from California to work as prostitutes in the operation.
Both suspects were scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in Bismarck in June but reached plea agreements with prosecutors late last month and pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to human trafficking and coercion. Judge Daniel Hovland did not immediately schedule a sentencing date.
Tran’s plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of at least 2 years. Nguyen’s plea deal calls for a sentence of no less than 2 1/2 years. They each face a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
Nguyen and Tran also will spend five years on supervised release after their prison time, must pay $500 fees and will forfeit money and property gained from the human trafficking operation that lured women through advertisements posted in a southern California-based Vietnamese publication.
Nguyen and Tran also will waive their appeal rights. Prosecutors in court documents said that was a big factor in their decision to settle the case.
“The United States chose to offer certain terms favorable to (the defendants) in exchange for finality,” prosecutors said.
Federal public defender Neil Fulton would not say why Tran accepted a plea deal, citing attorney-client privilege. Nguyen’s attorney, Jeff Bredahl, did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.
State human trafficking charges against Nguyen and Tran were dismissed earlier when federal prosecutors took jurisdiction in the case.
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