MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota woman wanted in an alleged ginseng scam is under arrest after evading capture for more than two years.
Hennepin County prosecutors said Mai Vu Vang, 51, of Brooklyn Center, was arrested last month in Georgia and extradited to Minnesota last weekend. Vang made her first court appearance Monday, where bail was set at $500,000 without conditions. She remains in jail.
Vang was charged in 2017 with six counts of theft by swindle for allegedly duping several members of the Hmong community into investing in a nonexistent ginseng farm, the Star Tribune reported.
Prosecutors allege that between 2012 and 2014, Vang persuaded nine Minnesota victims to give her more than $450,000 for a purported farm near Wausau, Wisconsin. One couple who knew Vang from church allegedly gave her their life savings.
During that time, Vang allegedly spent money from the victims to gamble at Mystic Lake Casino.
She was arrested in March on a traffic stop. Her court-appointed attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her behalf Monday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.