LOS ANGELES >> A former Rosemead woman received a sentence of more than four years in federal prison Tuesday for trafficking in counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes and Viagra pills, authorities said.
Su Qin Yang, 45, lived in Rosemead prior to fleeing to China in 2012, as the criminal investigation into her gained momentum, U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a written statement. She is also known as Lily or Anita Chang.
She pleaded guilty in May to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, “and admitted in her plea agreement that she trafficked in almost 4 million counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes and almost 4,000 counterfeit Viagra pills,” according to the statement.
United States District Judge Margaret M. Morrow sentenced Yang to 57 months in federal prison, officials said.
“The government is advised that after defendant’s arrest, the illegal sale of counterfeit cigarettes in the Los Angeles area decreased dramatically,” prosecutors noted in a legal brief.
Investigators seized the bogus goods from Yang’s home and storage facilities in the summer of 2012.
She fled to China after the search warrants were served, but before a federal grand jury returned a 16-count indictment in August of 2013, Mrozek said. She returned to the U.S. in January. In addition to the cigarettes and pills, officials also seized about $440,000 in alleged ill-gotten profits.
While in the process of negotiating with prosecutors in 2012 regarding a plea deal, Yang and her husband fled to China, leaving their minor children behind, according to Mrozek.
“Thereafter, (Yang) arranged for minor children to be transported to Washington state and then flown to China, attempting to smuggle over $300,000 in additional cash with them,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.
Yang’s husband, Antonio Limbeek, remains a fugitive and is believed to be Indonesia, officials said.
The investigation was triggered after Phillip Morris USA, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes, notified authorities of the counterfeit cigarette trafficking, Mrozek said. In addition to her prison term, Yang was ordered to pay $308,894 in restitution to Phillip Morris USA. The company has arranged for the funds to be given to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.