Conspiracy charges filed in $2M stolen equity case

Two Orange County, California, individuals face charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and identity theft, accused of targeting elderly members of the local Vietnamese community and duping banks into distributing $2.2 million of their accrued home equity.  

Thao Thi Kim Nguyen and Nghiep Chinh Nguyen were arraigned in United States District Court in Santa Ana, California, on Monday. Both entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them and were granted bond. They each face a single count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. 

Thao Nguyen was also charged with multiple other counts of both bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Nghiep Nguyen, meanwhile, faces an additional two counts of bank fraud and another of aggravated identity theft.

The purported violations occurred over a four-month period in 2018 after Thao Nguyen opened accounts in her name at two banks, who were not identified in the court indictment. Later, she would return to the banks accompanied by Ngiep Nguyen and other participants involved in the fraud, who posed as homeowners. 

Using stolen identities and phony documents, including California driver's licenses and Social Security cards, Ngiep Nguyen and the other alleged fraudsters would typically impersonate elderly Vietnamese homeowners to take out mortgages. This gave them access to the victim's accrued equity, through obtaining reverse liens after forging signatures on banking documents and grant deeds. Thao Nguyen also added the victims' names to the accounts she had previously opened at the banks, claiming, in at least one case, they belonged to her parents.

She then reportedly received wire transfers of the withdrawals made by the other parties from the fraudulent mortgage accounts. Thao Nguyen subsequently moved those funds to different bank accounts she owned. 

The scheme netted almost $2.2 million, according to the indictment, with Thao Nguyen taking in approximately $1 million while distributing the remaining amount to her cohorts.

A trial date for the two defendants is scheduled to begin on Sept. 26. If convicted, both face a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each conspiracy and fraud charge. They would also be required to serve two years for each count of aggravated identity theft if found guilty. 

Neither the identities of others participating in the scheme, who were not part of this indictment, nor of the victims were reported.

The charges against Thao Nguyen and Ngiep Nguyen follow another recent trial involving elderly homeowners in California. In that case, the head of an investment company promised homeowners he could help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure through transfer of their deed title to his business. After losses totaling more than $7 million and the eventual seizure of all homes belonging to the victims between 2015 and 2019, Robert Sedlar was found guilty on more than 100 felony counts earlier this year, including conspiracy, grand theft and elder abuse.