US says suspect hired a hit man

Sitting in jail while awaiting trial on federal charges that he and his wife bilked hundreds of Cambodian immigrants out of more than $30 million through a fraudulent investment scheme, James Bunchan hired a purported hit man to kill 11 witnesses and a codefendant, according to allegations in a federal indictment announced yesterday.

But the alleged plot was thwarted when Bunchan, 52, of Attleboro, solicited an undercover FBI agent posing as an assassin to carry out the killings, the indictment said.

"He's in jail, so I didn't expect him to do anything," said Heng Chea, 55, of Lowell, whose wife, Anny, was on Bunchan's hit list, according to the indictment. "He already did one crime, and now he's trying to do another."

Chea said FBI agents check on him and his wife weekly at their store in Lowell, and so "I feel very safe."

The Cheas were among some 400 Cambodians in states from California to Massachusetts who were allegedly roped into a pyramid scheme operated by Bunchan, his wife, Seng Tan, and a second man, Christian Rochon. Between 2000 and 2005, victims were told they were investing in World Marketing Direct Selling Inc., a local vitamin and health supplement company. Investors who contributed at least $26,000 were promised monthly payments of $300 for life.

But prosecutors say that the payouts, which eventually stopped, came from other investors, and many participants lost their life savings and homes, while Bunchan was allegedly taking gambling trips to Las Vegas and buying a mansion and several Mercedes-Benzes.

Bunchan and Tan, who have been jailed without bail since their arrest in November 2005, and Rochon, who is free on bail, are scheduled to stand trial June 4 in US District Court in Boston.

The murder-for-hire indictment alleges that while Bunchan was in the Plymouth County jail last July, he sent a letter to the purported hit man, offering to pay him to kill Rochon, Anny Chea, and 10 other witnesses to prevent them from testifying. One of Bunchan's cellmates, who was secretly cooperating with the FBI, put him in touch with the agent, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

James S. Dilday, the lawyer who represents Bunchan's wife, said Tan does not believe her husband could have conceived such a plot and remains loyal to him.

"She was shocked at the allegations," Dilday said. "And to be truthful, she doesn't believe it."

Attorney Robert A. George, who represents Bunchan in the fraud case, said he would not comment on the new charges because he is focusing on the fraud case, which could send Bunchan to prison for life if he is convicted. The murder-for-hire charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. George said, however, that he was concerned that jurors in the fraud trial would hear about the alleged murder plot and be biased against his client.

Despite Bunchan's alleged plan to kill Rochon, both men are still slated to stand trial together, along with Bunchan's wife, according to their lawyers.

The government warned Rochon, said his lawyer, James B. Krasnoo, who said: "He was certainly nonplussed. We've taken steps to make certain as best as we can that he's OK."

Asked why Rochon was allegedly targeted by Bunchan, Krasnoo speculated that it may have been because Rochon plans to testify at the upcoming trial that he was unaware of the alleged pyramid scheme and that other company officials were ultimately responsible for where the money went.

Vong Ros -- executive director of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Center in Lowell, where many of the victims lived -- said the news of the alleged murder plot will have a chilling effect on a Cambodian community.

He said that, because of that brutal dictatorship of the 1970s, witnesses will now be more reluctant to testify, even though Bunchan's plan was foiled.

"Under the Khmer Rouge, these acts would be carried out," Ros said. "Even though we're in this country, we don't feel that we know the government, that we know the system. . . . So when you hear these kinds of threats, I'm sure it resonates: 'I am a witness; anybody can come and kill me and take me from my house, just like under the Khmer Rouge.' "

Yvonne Abraham of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com; Raja Mishra at rmishra@globe.com.