Ex-Real Estate Agent, Others Cleared in Tax Case

Montgomery County prosecutors last week dropped theft and conspiracy charges against a Bethesda woman and four others accused of fraudulently seeking tax breaks in a real estate transaction.

Prosecutors said felony charges were dropped against Minh Vu Hoang, 54, after her sister, a codefendant, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. The sister's plea "made it impossible to show criminal intent by other parties in the matter," said John McLane, a spokesman for the Montgomery County state's attorney's office. He declined to elaborate.

Hoang has been in the real estate business for more than 20 years and has purchased hundreds of foreclosed properties in the Washington area -- including many in Montgomery -- that she has later sold. This is the second time in less than a year that felony charges filed against her relating to real estate transactions have been dismissed before trial.

In the latest case, Hoang's sister, notary public Van T. Vu, one of the codefendants in the case, pleaded guilty to one of the charges: negligent failure to provide information, a misdemeanor for which she was issued a $500 fine, according to court records.

Hoang's attorney, David Driscoll, said the case was baseless. "I was very surprised at who they charged and what they charged everybody with," Driscoll said.

Vu's attorney, Larry A. Creppos, did not respond to a voice mail left yesterday afternoon. The prosecutor, Assistant State's Attorney Bryan Roslund, declined to comment.

Charges also were dropped against Hoang's brother, Thinh Q. Vu, a State Department official based in Beijing; his wife, Hong Ngoc Nguyen; and Bethesda lawyer Michelle Simon of Gemini Title & Escrow LLC.

Thinh Q. Vu and Nguyen were the intended residents of the $440,000 Chevy Chase home for which the state and county tax breaks were allegedly sought.

According to the indictment, they were not first-time Maryland home buyers and did not plan to use the home as a primary residence -- criteria for the tax breaks.

Paul Kemp, the couple's attorney, said he is confident his clients would have been acquitted had the case gone to trial. "There was no evidence that my clients did anything wrong whatsoever," he said.

Simon's attorney, William C. Brennan Jr., said it is unusual for prosecutors to charge an attorney in a white-collar case without giving the person an opportunity to discuss the facts.

"Ms. Simon's conduct was absolutely appropriate," Brennan said. "The allegations were very ugly . . . but it was basically some taxes that didn't get paid" by the purchaser.

In an unrelated case, Hoang was indicted last summer on extortion, attempted theft, obstruction of justice and perjury charges in a case that stemmed from a residential foreclosure -- a type of transaction for which she is well-known in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, and elsewhere in the state. A judge dismissed that case, saying Hoang's conduct had not been illegal.

State officials revoked Hoang's broker's license in 1997.