Police display confiscated stash from Nguyen arrest
SAN BERNARDINO – San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators arrested an El Monte couple on suspicion of identity theft last week.
Vinny Hoai Nguyen and his girlfriend, Quynhunhu Nguyen, were arrested after a Bank of America customer discovered nearly $47,000 had been stolen from their savings and home equity line of credit.
County detectives were contacted by a fraud investigator from the Bank of America reporting the theft. Bank investigators had been alerted to a theft that occurred at the San Bernardino-based San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino earlier this year.
Detective Grant Ward said the suspect, Vinny Nguyen, made “numerous cash withdrawals over a five-day period using the victim’s identity and stolen banking information.” The victims have not been identified by authorities.
Upon gaining the suspect’s identity, detectives presented a search warrant at his El Monte residence, along with an arrest warrant for Nguyen. When detectives contacted him at his residence at the 5000 block of La Madera Avenue in El Monte, his girlfriend, Quynhunhu Nguyen, was also present.
According to reports, the search of that home unveiled numerous credit card manufacturing devices, along with hundreds of credit cards in various stages of being altered, dozens of stolen identification cards, numerous altered checks, several laptop computers and $8,300 in one hundred dollar bills.
Two days after the crime was reported to investigators, both suspects were arrested and taken to Central Detention Center, booked on numerous felony identity theft-related crimes. Reports did not specify the magnitude of the total amount of crimes possibly committed by the suspects.
Vinny Nguyen was due in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Tuesday, facing at least three felony charges. He was granted bail of $200,000.
According to court records, no appearance has yet been scheduled for Quynhunhu Nguyen, who has been released on bail.
This is the third arrest for Vinny Nguyen on identity theft charges in just the past few months. In July he was charged in Orange County with fraudulent use of an access card (ATM card.) Then in September he was arrested by Pasadena Police for unauthorized use of personal identification.
