SAN JOSE - Hung Ha was sentenced today to 36 months’ imprisonment for threatening IRS employees at the San Jose Taxpayer Assistance Center, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Lucy Koh, U.S. District Judge, following a jury trial resulting in Ha’s conviction of the crime.
Ha, 41, of San Jose, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 22, 2015. He was charged with threatening a federal official. Ha was convicted on July 17, 2017, by a jury after a four day trial. During the trial, evidence showed that Ha threatened to bomb the San Jose IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. Specifically, Ha demanded a tax refund he believed he was owed and said that if the IRS refused to give him the refund, he would bomb the office. Ha was charged with two counts of threatening federal officials, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B). The jury convicted Ha of one count.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Koh sentenced the defendant to a three year period of supervised release. The defendant is in custody and will begin serving the sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Simeon and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Vieira prosecuted the case with the assistance of Mimi Lam and Ryka Barghi. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
