FUGITIVE CAPTURED March 4, 2016 —
Seattle Police say a mother and daughter were the ringleaders of a large organized Identity Theft ring that was busted last Friday.
Some of you may remember this case. I tried to get this woman identified during all of 2014. She was even one of my top 14 fugitives still wanted at the end of 2014.
Detectives found five fake ID’s with Anh Thu Nguyen’s photo when she was arrested.
She and her mom are suspected of victimizing hundreds of people.
She has been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft in the First Degree, 5 counts of Identity Theft in the Second Degree and Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Prosecutors say despite having two other cases pending, she continued to re-offend after posting a $25,000 bail. Her bail has now been set at $500,000.
Her mom, Kim Thoathi Le, has been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft in the First Degree, 2 counts of Identity Theft in the First Degree, Identity Theft in the Second Degree, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the First Degree, Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Possessing Stolen Property in the Second Degree.
Her bail has been set at $250,000.
She has a felony conviction out of Oregon for Identity Theft and several misdemeanor convictions for theft/forgery related offenses.
Two other people have also been charged: Samnang Sam is being held on $500,000 bail and Anh Tuan Tran had bail set at $50,000.
In a news release, Seattle police said law enforcement officers from the SPD, King County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Postal Service served a warrant at a home near the 11700 block of 64th Avenue South in Skyway, where detectives believe a 46-year-old woman and her 26-years daughter have been “running an industrial-scale identification theft operation.” Inside the two-story home, police said they found a half-dozen fake Washington state ID’s — each featuring the 26-year-old suspect’s picture with a different name — lying out in the open, along with printers, blank checks, laptops, tablet computers and large boxes of jewelry. “The garage of the home was also stacked to the ceiling with suspected stolen tools, luggage, generators and other items, and the search also turned up 14 grams of methamphetamine, 10 pounds of marijuana and a handgun,” the news release said.
Detectives arrested the 26-year-old daughter and her 46-year-old mother and booked them into the King County Jail for identity theft, fraud, and drug possession. Police also arrested and booked a 34-year-old man found at the home, who had a warrant for identity theft. Investigators believe the suspects have racked up as much as $10,000 in charges a day under the identities of theft victims in Normandy Park, Medina, Everett, Auburn, and other cities in the Seattle area.
Police believe the suspects obtained their victims’ identification information through “mailboxing”—the practice of breaking into unsecured mailboxes for credit cards, state IDs, passports or bank information—as well as through burglaries and car prowls. With those records and cards in hand, suspects were able to print off Washington ID cards in their victim’s names and use them to rent cars, open bank accounts and rack up credit lines at department stores, where they can purchase and return items for cash, police said. “The victims are often unaware their identities have been stolen until they receive notification of past due bills and bounced checks from stores and banks,” the release said.
Seattle Police detectives are still combing through massive amounts of evidence in the case and are working to identify and contact what they suspect are hundreds of victims.
FUGITIVE UPDATE November 14, 2014 —
Medina police say this prolific identity thief has hit again.
Below are new surveillance photos showing her with the same look as her prior hit from the photo above — a black coat and sunglasses on her head. Officers say she’s using two credit cards stolen out of a mailbox to rip off more than $5,000 worth of merchandise
FUGITIVE UPDATE November 3, 2014 —
Medina police say the same accused identity thief featured on WMW last month is wanted for using credit card numbers stolen during the big security breaches at Target and Home Depot.
She is wanted by numerous police departments in Western Washington who are all working together to stop her. “The law enforcement agencies have been on this individual for pretty much all summer. Law enforcement agencies from Renton to Kent to Everett and Tacoma are taking this very seriously. They are really trying to help their victims out,” said Medina Ofc. Mike Girias.
He has three victims so far who have had their identity stolen with losses of more than $10,000. “This particular woman looks the part. She feels very comfortable. If you watch the video, she almost feels like she is the owner of the card,” he said.
The woman is using the fake names "Christine Myers" or "Christine Montgomery", so investigators believe her real first name might be Christine. She even has a fake Washington ID's.
Police say she is most likely from Southern California but has been coming to the Puget Sound area since early summer to shop. “In all of our photos, she has sunglasses on top of her head. She has a large black purse and she seems to be really interested in her phone as well,” he said. She returns some of the items for cash and sells others. So hopefully somebody can catch on her mannerisms and recognize her and go from there. We know that she’s in the area,” he said.
WANTED IN EVERETT October 3, 2014 --
A fake driver's license photo is all Everett police have to go on to figure out who this woman is wanted for identity theft.
Detectives say she's part of a criminal crew accused in a scheme that's targeted over a dozen victims in Snohomish and king county – and their cars. "We believe that the financial information is being taken from vehicle prowls,” says Everett Ofc. Aaron Snell. “It's turned around and being used for the identity theft scheme itself, where bank accounts are opened, deposits are made and cash is immediately withdrawn. Ultimately the checks that are deposited are bogus checks.”
Officer Snell says one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from car-prowling identity thieves like this suspect is to never leave checks, ID’s, or any type of financial information in your car.
If you can tell Everett detectives her, call an anonymous tip into:
CRIME STOPPERS: 1-800-222-TIPS
You must call the Crime Stoppers hotline with your tip to be eligible to receive a cash reward for information leading to a fugitive’s arrest.
Click here for information on how to text a tip to Crime Stoppers.