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Los Angeles, CA--Alex and Sam Nguyen, owners of several precious metals businesses in downtown Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiring to hide cash transactions from the IRS, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Newport Gold Post Inc., one of their companies, also pleaded guilty.

[Image via iStock.com/Michał Chodyra]

The report stated the Nguyens failed to file required Form 8300 reports on more than 350 occasions between 2013 and 2022, covering at least $127,446,066 in cash transactions. Examples cited in the plea agreements include a December 2020 exchange in which Alex Nguyen accepted $140,000 in cash for 5,118 ounces of silver without submitting the required paperwork.

Sam Nguyen admitted to not filing a Form 8300 for a July 2021 $100,000 gold transaction, the report noted. Both defendants acknowledged not implementing a federally required anti-money laundering program and making false statements to IRS auditors and federal agents.

Alex Nguyen also admitted to filing false joint tax returns from 2016 through 2020, failing to report more than $1.5 million in 2019. Court filings list total tax due for the period at between $1.77 million and $1.87 million.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 5, 2026. Alex Nguyen faces up to eight years in prison, Sam Nguyen up to five, and Newport Gold Post up to five years of probation and a $500,000 fine.

Learn more in this report by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.