Lewis Li, 36, of Huntington Beach, California, was sentenced today to six years in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for his role in the forceful abduction and extortion of a man in Peekskill, New York.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the sentence "reflects the seriousness of this crime and the fear and trauma that Li inflicted on the victim. Abducting a man in broad daylight, beating him up, and threatening him and his family is a grave offense that ravages the sense of safety that every community deserves. Our Office remains committed to protecting the public and ensuring that those who endanger our communities face justice.”
Court documents detail Li and co-conspirators meticulously planned the January 28, 2025, abduction of their business partner, "Victim-1," for at least five days, using a GPS tracker, surveillance, and trash sifting. On the day, Li and three co-conspirators abducted Victim-1 outside a Peekskill grocery store, forcing him into a vehicle.
For nearly two hours, Victim-1 was restrained, beaten, and subjected to a stun gun, threatened to return approximately $930,000 Li believed he had stolen. They also demanded an additional $100,000, claiming ties to organized crime, and forced Victim-1 to record a video confession. After Victim-1 arranged for the cash retrieval, he was released in Elmsford. Li was arrested a week later, with a stun gun and his phone found hidden in his apartment.
In addition to the prison term, Li was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $910,000. Mr. Clayton praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force for their investigative work.