What's most embarrassing is that the theft was big-time embezzlement by the chief operating officer of the county Department of Economic Development.
Byung Il Bang, 59, also known as Peter Bang, is the man whose job it was to help small businesses and businesses run by women and minorities, as well as businesses in the fields of computer technology and biological technology. He was paid to bring these businesses to Montgomery County and help them flourish.
He just wasn't paid $6,705,669, which was how much he figured he needed to cover his gambling debts, so he reached into the county cash register, so to speak, and helped himself.
The IRS got wise to the scheme when Bang was unable to explain where he was getting these big checks he cashed at casinos. They check on these things, you know. Good thing there was no government shutdown at the time.
"Everyone who holds positions of trust should prove themselves worthy of that trust," said U.S. attorney Robert Hur, the prosecutor. But he said that Bang betrayed that trust.
The scheme went this way: Montgomery County struck a deal with a province in South Korea to create an "incubator fund," the purpose being to help the growth of Korean-run businesses in the county. Bang then set up a shell corporation called Chungbuk Incubator Fund LLC with four bank accounts in that name.
He used his own home address as the address of all four accounts. From there, it was a snap to direct money to the accounts. The Montgomery County Department of Finance transferred $5.4 million, the Maryland Economic Development Corporation transferred $1.2 million, and the Maryland Conference & Visitors Bureau chipped in $43,000. All of these agencies believed they were investing in Montgomery County's economic future, but were in fact supporting Bang as he poured all of it into casinos around the nation.
Of course, Bang (pictured above) not only pled guilty to ripping off the money, but also admitted he didn't report the income on his taxes.
Bang is obligated to pay the money back, per his plea agreement. The court left it up to him to figure out how, and we only hope the plan doesn't involve winning it in casinos, race tracks, or scratchers.
The judge pointed out that Bang did good work for the county, just before she sent him up the federal river for a four-year bid.
And Montgomery County officials said they will set up oversight to make sure no one is ever able to commit this level of crime again. They did not say what Bang's supervisors were doing while they should have been overseeing his sketchy practices.
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