Woman Arrested in Ginseng Scam After 2 Years Eluding Capture

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A Minnesota woman wanted in an alleged ginseng scam is under arrest after evading capture for more than two years.

Hennepin County prosecutors say  51-year-old Mai Vu Vang of Brooklyn Center was arrested last month in Georgia and extradited to Minnesota last weekend.

Vang made her first court appearance Monday, where bail was set at $500,000 without conditions.

Vang was charged in 2017 with six counts of theft by swindle for allegedly duping several members of the Hmong community into investing in a nonexistent ginseng farm near Wausau, Wisconsin. One couple who knew Vang from church allegedly gave her their life savings.