August 10, 2007

ICE investigation leads to prison sentence for Tacoma pastor
Leader of Hope Korean Church defrauded church members and fled to South Korea following conviction

TACOMA, Wash. - The former pastor of a Korean church in Tacoma was sentenced yesterday to 55 months in federal prison following earlier convictions on charges of obstruction of justice, conspiring to defraud the government, and three counts of visa fraud. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigated the case.

Dong Wan Park, 53, took tens of thousands of dollars from Korean nationals and filed fraudulent visa applications on their behalf, claiming they were coming to serve as religious workers at the Hope Korean Church in Tacoma. Park then pressured the aliens to lie about the scheme.

According to court documents, Park advertised in a Korean-language newspaper that immigration visas were available through his church. In exchange for fees as high as $30,000, he would provide visa paperwork, including phony transcripts from a Korean Seminary and a certificate of ordination from a Korean Bishop. Park signed the petitions certifying that the applicants would be associate pastors at the Hope Korean Church and would be paid $24,000 per year.  None of the applicants was ever employed at the church or had any religious training.

After the scheme started to unravel, Park attempted to get the applicants to change their story and indicate the monies paid to him were donations to the church. The investigation revealed that Park used the money for his own purposes, often withdrawing it at tribal casinos in Pierce County.

Shortly after his June 2006 conviction, Park, who was out on bond, fled to Mexico City. There, after lying to officials at the Korean embassy about his U.S. citizenship, he obtained immigration documents to reenter South Korea. Prior to leaving the United States, Park persuaded his church elders to sign off on the paperwork authorizing the sale of the church, netting himself nearly $350,000 in profit. ICE agents determined Park subsequently wired $290,000 of those funds to a bank in Korea.

In late October 2006, Park flew to South Korea from Mexico City. The South Korean government returned the Korean-American fugitive to the United States where he was taken into custody by ICE agents and officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

"This case illustrates the lengths individuals will go to defraud our nation's immigration system," said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge for ICE's Office of Investigations in Seattle. "ICE will continue to aggressively investigate these types of crimes to deter similar activity by others in the future."

After being deported from Korea, Park pleaded guilty April 6 to failure to appear and transportation of stolen property. In addition to prison time, Park must pay $290,000 in restitution and a $250,000 fine. He also is subject to three years of supervised release following his release from prison.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

  Last Modified: