Kim Lien Vu, a 46-year-old Ohioan and salon owner, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for attempting to set fire to a competing salon, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
Federal Prosecutors say that Vu had “developed animosity” toward the competing business, according to a DOJ press release. Beginning in December 2022, Vu allegedly approached Cierra Marie Bishop, a 30-year-old employee, “about a plot to exact revenge on the competing salon,” the press release said. The two “frequently texted about the plan,” which developed into a scheme to set fire to the rival company by building and planting “a remote-controlled incendiary device,” the DOJ said.
Salon owner given nearly 4 years in prison for trying to burn down competing salon https://t.co/ge7wkq8MHm
— WCPO 9 (@WCPO) April 25, 2024
Surveillance footage shows Bishop along with Makahla Ann Rennick, a 19-year-old friend of Bishop’s, who booked an appointment under a false name entering the rival salon on Feb. 5, the DOJ’s press release read. Rennick was allegedly couched by Vu to book under a name that sounds “white,” the press release said. During the appointment, Vu’s employee allegedly planted the device under a salon desk before exiting the premises, the DOJ noted.
“A salon employee then found the suspected device, which smelled like gasoline. The employee opened the package, seeing that it looked like an explosive device, and took it outside near the salon’s dumpsters. The employee later went back outside to check on the device and noticed that box had begun to catch on fire,” the DOJ wrote.
Vu pleaded guilty back in September 2023 to conspiring to cause damage to another business, according to the DOJ. (RELATED: DOJ Reaches Multi-Million Dollar Settlement With Victims Of Larry Nassar)