Cherry Hill man pleads guilty in plot to destroy fishing boat [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Nov. 17--A fishing-boat owner and two other men pleaded guilty Wednesday in a conspiracy to destroy the vessel in an insurance scam, according to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Owner Scott Tran, 38, of Cherry Hill, admitted he hatched the plot to sink the Alexander II off Cape May in August 2009. But the boat failed to sink, and Tran filed an insurance claim for $400,000 that was denied, authorities said.

Tran, Manh Nguyen, 58, of Philadelphia -- described by authorities as Tran's "right-hand man" -- and crewman Christopher "Stickman" Martin, 39, of Wildwood, entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in federal court in Camden.

The three were indicted in June, along with Erik James of Goshen, Cape May County.

According to court documents, in July 2009, Tran and Nguyen hired Henry "Mike" Anholt -- who died before the indictment was returned -- to captain and sink the boat on the high seas.

Anholt recruited James, Martin, and a third man, who was not indicted, to help, according to court records.

On Aug. 2, 2009, Anholt and the crew took the Alexander II about 85 miles off the southeast coast of Cape May. Ship logs indicated they had caught about 50 fish, weighing 3,000 pounds.

Seawater started to pour in to the boat.

About 3:30 a.m., the crew sent a distress signal to the Coast Guard and jumped into a life raft. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the four from the sea, but Coast Guard authorities discovered the 3,000 pounds of fish were not on the boat.

And the Alexander II never sank.

The indictment against James is pending.

Contact staff writer Darran Simon at 856-779-3829, dsimon@phillynews.com, or @darransimon on Twitter.

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