Officer, Little Saigon businessman plead not guilty to loan-sharking

Freeway exit sign for Little Saigon in Westminster, where the police chief said he would mount an outreach campaign to reassure immigrant residents and businesses that law enforcement officials are trustworthy.

By Anh Do

Sept. 23, 2013 12 AM PT

A Westminster police officer and a Little Saigon businessman accused in a loan-sharking case have pleaded not guilty.

Officer Anthony Duong Donner, 28, and Kevin Khanh Tuan Do, 38, made their pleas Monday and were ordered to return to court in November. Donner remains on leave from the Westminster police force.

FBI agents arrested both men in August, accusing Do of masterminding a loan-sharking operation and using the officer living in his home as his “enforcer.”

Do allegedly lent $170,000 to a woman who wanted to open a Garden Grove coffee shop and a lounge in neighboring Westminster, charging her 5% interest a month, along with an annual interest rate of 60%, according to a 39-page FBI affidavit.

Do allegedly directed Donner to collect payments from the woman and told her that if she didn’t pay, the police would “interfere with her business” and cite her for driving under the influence, even if she wasn’t drinking, FBI Special Agent Joseph Paul Nieblas said.

After Donner’s arrest at police headquarters last month, Westminster Police Chief Kevin Baker said he would mount an outreach campaign to reassure immigrant residents and businesses in the city that law enforcement officials are trustworthy and continue to work “to earn everyone’s trust.”

Donner and Do are expected be back in court Nov. 12.

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E-mail: anh.do@latimes.com
Twitter: @newsterrier

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Anh Do

Anh Do, the community engagement editor at the Los Angeles Times, works across the newsroom to spotlight our journalists and journalism, bringing our diverse talent closer to the audiences they serve via virtual and live events. She’s a member of the recruiting team and also represents the paper in communicating with the public who have questions about The Times’ journalistic standards and practices. Before this job, she spent 11 years in Metro covering Asian American issues and general assignments. A second-generation journalist, she has reported for the Seattle Times, the Orange County Register and Nguoi Viet Daily News. Do, born in Saigon, is a graduate of USC with degrees in journalism and English. Her writing on culture and trauma has won awards from Columbia University and the Asian American Journalists Assn. She received Yale’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism and, in 2016, was part of The Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks. Apart from words, she’s passionate about all things canine, spending nearly three decades supporting dog rescue around the globe.

Officer, Little Saigon businessman plead not guilty to loan-sharking

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