A Los Angeles man has been convicted of dozens of felonies for violently extorting karaoke businesses in Koreatown using methods that seem ripped from a gangster film.
Woodland Hills resident Daekun Cho, 39, was convicted on 57 charges: 55 counts of interference with commerce by extortion, one count of attempted interference with commerce by extortion and one count of carjacking.
Between November 2020 and March 2023, Cho “demanded ‘protection’ money from karaoke businesses in Koreatown, as well as from drivers of ‘doumis’ – or hostesses – employed by patrons of the karaoke establishments,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Using threats — and at least once, a baseball bat — Cho “physically attacked, threatened, and instilled fear in his victims to induce them to pay him” so-called “protection fees” that ranged between $100 and $1,000 per month either in person or via Venmo, prosecutors said.
In one instance in May 2021, a doumi driver refused to pay Cho, so Cho and an accomplice “beat the victim with baseball bats until knocking him unconscious and then stole his minivan,” prosecutors detailed.
“The victim suffered a broken arm and multiple cuts and bruises,” the release said. “In response, the victim and his business partner closed their karaoke driving company, and the business partner left California.”
Other victims were threatened with deadly violence, and in what seems to be an attempt to prove his point, Cho followed that warning with gunshots that broke the glass in one victim’s car and caused an injury to a doumi.
“Today’s verdict should send a strong message to those willing to use violence and threats of violence to intimidate Los Angeles communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang.
Cho is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 16. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each extortion-related count and up to 25 years for carjacking.