U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Six Defendants Arrested on Indictments Alleging They Used Stolen Identities to Fraudulently Obtain Lines of Credit and Jobless Benefits (USAO CD-CA 09/11/2024) (2024-09-12)

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, dated September 11, 2024, announcing the arrest of six Orange County residents charged in three indictments that charge seven defendants in total. The first indictment, returned on June 12, alleges that Tien Vo, Crystal Nguyen, Thao Nguyen and Michelle Strange used unemployment insurance debit cards obtained in identity theft victims' names through the California Employment Development Department and withdrew approximately $15,650. The second, returned on August 7, alleges that Chien Khang Bui, Nangialey Nick Wardak and Mandy Lynn McGrew used stolen identities to obtain home equity lines of credit secured by victims' homes, receiving approximately $502,806. A third indictment charges Bui with distribution of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

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PRESS RELEASE



Six Defendants Arrested on
Indictments Alleging They Used
Stolen Identities to Fraudulently
Obtain Lines of Credit and Jobless
Benefits
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California

SANTA ANA, California – Law enforcement officials today arrested six Orange County
residents charged in three indictments alleging, among other crimes, they stole
identities to defraud California’s unemployment insurance (UI) system and to
fraudulently apply for lines of credit from a lender, using the identity theft victims’
homes as collateral.

In total, seven defendants are charged in the three indictments, which were returned by
a federal grand jury. The defendants arrested today are expected to be arraigned this
afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

The first indictment, returned on June 12, contains 31 counts, alleges the following
defendants participated in a conspiracy that fraudulently obtained debit cards through
the California Employment Development Department (EDD), which administers the
state’s UI system:

   •   Tien Vo, 43, of Westminster;
   •   Crystal Nguyen, 35, of Garden Grove, who is a fugitive;
   •   Thao Nguyen, 46, of Westminster; and
   •   Michelle Strange, 40, of Midway City.
All four of these defendants are charged with 22 counts of bank fraud, and each has
been charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft. Vo also is charged with one
count of possession of unauthorized access devices.

From May 2020 to January 2022, the defendants allegedly obtained UI debit cards,
which fraudulently had been obtained by submitting UI applications in the names of
identity theft victims. During this time, EDD also administered Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance benefits, which Congress authorized in 2020 to provide to individuals who
were unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendants then used these
debit cards to withdraw unemployment insurance benefits. In total, the defendants
withdrew approximately $15,650 in UI benefits from the debit cards.

The second indictment, returned on August 7, contains seven counts, alleges the
following defendants schemed to defraud banks by using stolen identities – including
by stealing mail – to fraudulently obtain lines of credit secured by the identity theft
victims’ actual homes – and were secured without the victims’ knowledge or consent:

   •   Chien Khang Bui, 36, a.k.a. “Catfish” and “Tommy,” of Anaheim;
   •   Nangialey Nick Wardak, 54, of Santa Ana; and
   •   Mandy Lynn McGrew, 35, of Santa Ana.

From February 2020 to March 2022, Bui allegedly obtained debit card numbers, bank
account numbers, credit cards, home addresses, telephone numbers, and other personal
identifying information belonging to identity theft victims. He then submitted online
applications for home equity lines of credit (HELOC) with a mortgage-lending company
by using the victims’ stolen information. Bui linked each HELOC application to a bank
account that he and other conspirators controlled.

The defendants allegedly lied to the mortgage company that they were the person
associated with each application and that they were the owner of each of the houses
used as collateral. In total, the conspiracy received approximately $502,806 in
fraudulently obtained HELOCs.

All three of these defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank
fraud, and each of them is charged with one count of aggravated identity theft. Bui also
is charged with three counts of bank fraud for allegedly using stolen identities to
fraudulently obtain COVID-19 jobless benefits from EDD in July and August of 2020.

“These indictments allege an organized criminal campaign of identity theft targeting
banks, California’s unemployment insurance program, and homeowners alike,” said
United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Sophisticated fraud schemes, such as the ones
alleged in these indictments, cause real damage to victims, and we will be diligent in
rooting them out.”

“I am proud of the extensive investigation conducted by the FBI’s Orange County Asian
Organized Crime Task Force,” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s
Los Angeles Field Office. “Through their hard work and dedication, we were able to
dismantle an organization responsible for causing significant financial harm to
individuals and public funds designated to assist those in need. The FBI is committed to
protecting our communities, financial institutions, and public assistance programs from
criminal enterprises that exploit them for personal gain.”

In a third and separate indictment, also returned on August 7 and containing three
counts, Bui is charged with two counts of distribution of methamphetamine stemming
from alleged incidents in December 2022 and February 2023, and one count of
unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.

Bui is not legally permitted to possess firearms or ammunition because of his criminal
history, which includes felony convictions in Orange County Superior Court for theft by
false pretenses, second-degree commercial burglary, identity theft, identity theft with
prior conviction, unlawful taking of a vehicle, and grand theft.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every
defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of
30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud-related count, and a mandatory
consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison for each aggravated identity theft
count. Vo would face up to 10 years in prison for the unauthorized possession of access
devices count and Bui would face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment
for the methamphetamine distribution counts and up to 15 years in federal prison for
the count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The FBI’s Orange County Asian Organized Crime Task Force is investigating these cases.
This task force is comprised of the FBI; the Santa Ana Police Department; the
Westminster Police Department; the California Department of Justice – Bureau of
Gambling Control; the Orange County District Attorney's Office; the California
Employment Development Department; and the United States Department of Labor –
Office of Inspector General. The Orange County Sheriff's Department provided
substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Y. Fu of the Santa Ana Branch Office is
prosecuting the Vo case. Assistant United States Attorney Melissa S. Rabbani, also of the
Santa Ana Branch Office, is prosecuting the Bui cases.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with
agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-
related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most
culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with
administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting
and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and
techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing
information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information
on the department’s response to the pandemic, please
visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the
Central and Eastern Districts of California to jointly head one of three national COVID-19
Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to
enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The
Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on
large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and
transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic
relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to
identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional
information regarding the Strike Force may be found
at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-covid-19-fraud-strike-
force-teams.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud
(NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form
at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Contact
Ciaran McEvoy
Public Information Officer
ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-4465

Updated September 11, 2024
Topics
CORONAVIRUS

FINANCIAL FRAUD

FIREARMS OFFENSES

IDENTITY THEFT
Component
USAO - California, Central
Press Release Number: 24-228


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