SANTA ANA, California – Chinh Vuong, 48，of Garden Grove, who worked for the United States Postal Service for more than two decades, appeared in federal court this morning after agreeing to plead guilty to stealing from the mail and selling at least 6,240 credit cards.
Vuong was charged last week with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft for stealing mail while on the job for a year and using the information in the mail for identity theft.
According to the documents filed in the case, Vuong had worked at the United States Postal Service Santa Ana Processing and Distribution Center (“Santa Ana P. & D.C.”) as a mail processing clerk since 1989. Between October 6, 2014, and October 6, 2015, while working at the Santa Ana P. & D.C., Vuong stole at least 6,240 credit cards from undelivered mail for the profit of him and others. Vuong made at least $6,000 per month selling stolen credit cards.
Vuong used the funds from the sale of stolen credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including designer handbags and boots, two BMWs, alcohol, and drugs. On October 6, 2015, federal authorities searched Vuong’s Garden Grove residence and seized approximately 199 stolen credit cards and luxury items bought using the proceeds from selling stolen credit cards, including two BMWs and over 20 handbags made by brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci.
The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in federal prison—which must run consecutively with the sentence imposed for the bank fraud conspiracy charge. The bank fraud charge conspiracy carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years.
