DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

San Jose man sentenced to 17 years for role in ID theft ring victimizing dozens

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Dissent

A San Jose man today was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for masterminding what San Jose police believe is one of the most extensive and insidious identity theft rings in the city’s history.

Tri Van Nguyen was sentenced by the Hon. Socrates Manoukian following his plea to 87 felony counts earlier this year.

Nguyen, 47, and three other co-defendants are believed to have stolen more than $500,000 from more than 60 victims – including grieving widows, an elderly couple who lost their retirement account, and a four-year-old boy whose stolen identity was used to pay off a relative’s power bill.

When, in 2013, police arrested three of the defendants in a North San Jose apartment complex, they found an ID theft “factory” with four printers churning out fake IDs and counterfeit $100 bills.

“These were not people shoplifting from a grocery store to feed themselves,” prosecutor Vishal Bathija said. “This was a destructive, extensive, and obscene money grab.”

Co-defendants Ha Van Nguyen, 38, and Mai Hoang, 36, were previously sentenced to 29 years 8 months and 17 years 8 months in prison following their pleas while Kent Do, 30, was sentenced to probation for 10 years due to his lack of criminal history and lesser participation in the overall scheme.

The ID thieves used a wide variety of techniques to steal identities, including residential and auto burglaries, mail theft, culling information from obituaries, even starting a fake company on the web called nguyenantithievemailprevention.com.

Investigators believed that the ring used their illegal proceeds on buying luxury cars, electronics, ammunition and – in one case – breast augmentation surgery.

Even the apartment where police found the ID theft factory was rented in the name of a person whose identity had been stolen.

Investigators believe that there are other related and, so far, undiscovered ID theft factories in the area.

Bathija was thankful for the vital cooperation of a number of agencies on the case, including the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspector, the Department of Motor Vehicles Investigative Division, and Detective Brian Pettis of the San Jose Police Department.

SOURCE: Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office

Category: ID Theft

Post navigation

← Rhode Island Data Breach Update Now Effective
C’mon folks, stop screwing up the easy stuff →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Washington Post investigating cyberattack on journalists, WSJ reports
  • Resource: State Data Breach Notification Laws – June 2025
  • WestJet investigates cyberattack disrupting internal systems
  • Plastic surgeons often store nude photos of patients with their identity information. When would we call that “negligent?”
  • India: Servers of two city hospitals hacked; police register FIR
  • Ph: Coop Hospital confirms probe into reported cyberattack
  • Slapped wrists for Financial Conduct Authority staff who emailed work data home
  • School Districts Unaware BoardDocs Software Published Their Private Files
  • A guilty plea in the PowerSchool case still leaves unanswered questions
  • Brussels Parliament hit by cyber-attack

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Vermont signs Kids Code into law, faces legal challenges
  • Data Categories and Surveillance Pricing: Ferguson’s Nuanced Approach to Privacy Innovation
  • Anne Wojcicki Wins Bidding for 23andMe
  • Would you — or wouldn’t you?
  • New York passes a bill to prevent AI-fueled disasters
  • Synthetic Data and the Illusion of Privacy: Legal Risks of Using De-Identified AI Training Sets
  • States sue to block the sale of genetic data collected by DNA testing company 23andMe

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.