Vietnamese actor Don Duong in the US. He has been charged by a county court in Virginia for blackmailing his ex-girlfriend with nude photos and a sex tape.

Vietnamese actor Don Duong has been found guilty by the Fairfax county court in Virginia of blackmailing his former girlfriend with nude photos and a sex tape, an overseas Vietnamese newspaper in California has reported.

According to court records, Don Duong has not submitted his computer which allegedly contained many of the plaintiff’s photographs, causing the court to reschedule the appearance several times.

In late November 2008, Lien filed another complaint, accusing the actor for not informing her about his Hepatitis B condition. She also said that between August 2006 and September 2007, the actor had forced her to pay him US$110,000 to not make the tape and the photos public.

Late last month, according to the paper, the county judge ordered Don Duong to pay Lien damages of $200,000.

The newspaper also reported that when immigrating to the US in 2003, the actor had informed immigration officials that he was married when he was actually divorced.

Later he had accepted $10,000 from a woman to marry her and help her migrate to the US. He divorced her later in California, the paper reports.

Accusations refuted

In a letter sent to several American publications, Don Duong has rejected all the accusations.

He wrote that Lien was the one who’d asked the court to reschedule the appearance and that he was not aware of the hearing held on February 27.

“I am extremely frustrated over the situation,” he wrote. “It is she who should pay me compensation and also the fees to hire my lawyer because she has damaged my honor.”

The actor plans to appear in a press conference in California to talk about the case.

According to Don Duong’s private lawyer Pham Thien Trang, the Fairfax court had made a decision despite the actor not appearing in court, since the court does not have to prove it had sent a subpoena to the person.

The actor also said his lawyer in Virginia would file paperwork to ask for cancellation of the court’s decision on February 27, and file a countersuit.

Don Duong was born in Da Lat in 1957 and began his acting career in 1982. He has appeared in more than 50 films.

He won the Best Vietnamese Actor award in 1992 for his role in Dau An cua Quy (Devil’s Mark).

He was criticized in Vietnam for taking part in two American films: “Green Dragon” in 2001 and “We Were Soldiers” in 2002.

Reported by Do Tuan