U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Santa Ana Man Charged with Using Stolen Identities to Apply for More Than $1 Million in Pandemic-Related Unemployment Benefits (USAO CD-CA 10/05/2022) (2022-10-05)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, dated October 5, 2022, announcing that a federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment charging Nhan Hoang Pham, 36, of Santa Ana, with mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft counts over California unemployment benefits. The indictment alleges that from approximately July 2020 through April 2021 Pham used personal identifying information of people with identical or similar names in California, Texas and Michigan to submit 24 fraudulent applications to the California Employment Development Department. It alleges that Pham had benefit cards sent to mail drops in Anaheim and that Pham and co-schemers withdrew cash from ATMs across Orange County. The applications allegedly sought $1,255,350, and the total loss is approximately $408,496.

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Cite this document

“U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Santa Ana Man Charged with Using Stolen Identities to Apply for More Than $1 Million in Pandemic-Related Unemployment Benefits (USAO CD-CA 10/05/2022) (2022-10-05).” Original at www.oig.dol.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/u-s-department-of-labor-oig-santa-ana-man-charged-with-using-stolen-id-a3285f1139/, SHA-256 7c2994a61b3bfba46792b92d0ed924950b1752e6c3b21cdc2904d4fd24763483.

Full text

                                     Department of Justice
                                     U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                   Central District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Wednesday, October 5, 2022

    Santa Ana Man Charged with Using Stolen Identities to
     Apply for More Than $1 Million in Pandemic-Related
                  Unemployment Benefits
SANTA ANA, California – A federal grand jury today returned an eight-count indictment
charging an Orange County man with defrauding California’s unemployment insurance program
by using personal information stolen from people with similar names to apply for $1.25 million
in COVID-19 unemployment benefits.

Nhan Hoang Pham, 36, of Santa Ana, was charged with three counts of mail fraud in relation to
benefits connected to presidentially declared emergency, one count of wire fraud in relation to
benefits connected to presidentially declared emergency, and four counts of aggravated identity
theft. Pham is currently in state custody on unrelated charges, and he is expected to be arraigned
on the federal indictment following his release later this month.

The indictment alleges that Pham, from approximately July 2020 through April 2021, submitted
fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance after acquiring personal identifying
information – such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers – from individuals with
identical or similar names who lived in California, Texas and Michigan. Pham allegedly
submitted 24 fraudulent applications to the California Employment Development Department
(EDD), which administers unemployment insurance benefits for residents of California,
including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits to individuals who were unemployed
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pham directed that unemployment benefit cards issued by Bank of America on behalf of the
EDD be sent to mail drops he controlled in Anaheim, according to the indictment, which alleges
that Pham and co-schemers used the benefit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs across Orange
County.

Pham allegedly filed applications that fraudulently sought $1,255,350 in unemployment benefits,
and the total loss in this case is approximately $408,496.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is
presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Pham would face a statutory maximum sentence of
30 years in federal prison for each of the four fraud counts. Additionally, the aggravated identity
theft charges carry a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.

The United States Secret Service; the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector
General; the California Employment Development Department, Investigation Division; the
Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation; and the Santa Ana Police
Department conducted the investigation into Pham.

Assistant United States Attorney Daniel S. Lim of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting
this case.
Topic(s):
Coronavirus
Component(s):
USAO - California, Central
Contact:
Thom Mrozek Director of Media Relations thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov (213) 894-6947
Press Release Number:
22-207
                                                                             Updated October 5, 2022

File and source

File: 2022-10-05-Santa-Ana-Man-Charged-with-Using-Stolen-Identities-to-Apply-for-More-Than-1-Million-in-Pandemic-Rel.pdf
Size: 163,831 bytes
SHA-256: 7c2994a61b3bfba46792b92d0ed924950b1752e6c3b21cdc2904d4fd24763483
Our copy: 2022-10-05-Santa-Ana-Man-Charged-with-Using-Stolen-Identities-to-Apply-for-More-Than-1-Million-in-Pandemic-Rel.pdf
Original: www.oig.dol.gov