SAN FRANCISCO — A federal jury convicted an Oakland man of multiple crimes, including murder, drug distribution conspiracy, bribery and weapons charges, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman said Thursday.
According to evidence presented during the three-week trial before United States District Judge Charles Breyer, Wing Wo Ma, 53, began borrowing money in January 2013 from Jim Tat Kong to fund business ventures, including a marijuana grow and a real-estate scheme in Mendocino County.
Fearful after finding himself unable to pay the money back, Ma met with Kong and his girlfriend Cindy Bao Feng Chen on Oct. 17, 2013 — Chen’s birthday — in a remote Mendocino County area.
While sitting behind Kong and Chen in their parked minivan, Ma pulled out a gun and shot each of them once in the head before leaving their bodies in the vehicle.
“The jury’s verdict makes clear that Wing Wo Ma will answer for the brutal killings of Jim Tat Kong and Cindy Bao Feng Chen,” U.S. Attorney David Anderson said.
“The verdict also ensures that Ma’s personal crime wave, including murder, drug distribution, bribery, and conspiracy, has come to an end.”
Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent in Charge John Bennett said the trial “brings a measure of justice for the families of Jim Tat Kong and Cindy Bao Feng Chen.
“Wing Wo Ma committed these homicides in cold blood and showed a blatant disregard for the rule of law,” Bennett added. “The arrest and conviction of Wing Wo Ma shows the FBI’s commitment to get dangerous criminals off the street and protect Northern Californians from violent threats.”
Ma was also convicted of bribery after the jury saw evidence that he gave multiple gifts to Harry Hu, a former Oakland police lieutenant who later worked as an inspector for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office until resigning last year.
Hu received airfaire for several trips to Las Vegas, free suites and hotel rooms at casinos, as well as meals, entertainment and female hostesses’ company in Las Vegas and San Francisco, concert tickets, use of a new Mercedes Benz and labor costs toward a home remodeling.
Ma funded his bribes in part with money from criminal partners, telling them Hu was an investor in his projects and using Hu’s name and reputation to attract additional investors.
Hu pleaded guilty in October 2018 to taking bribes from Ma.
A federal grand jury indicted Ma on April 6, 2017, charging him with conspiracy to cultivate, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, discharging a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, and use of a firearm causing murder.
On Oct. 11, 2018, the grand jury handed down a superseding indictment that tacked on conspiracy to commit fraud and bribery.
At Ma’s sentencing, set by Breyer for Feb. 12, 2020, he faces a sentence of five to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and between four years to lifetime supervised release for his marijuana-conspiracy charge.
For the firearm use, Ma faces a life sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervisory release, and 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervisory release for the bribery.
A court could also impose restitution and supervised-release terms, but any sentence would have to follow federal statutes governing sentence-imposition guidelines.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
