This story was initially published on MyNorthwest.com
A former postal worker was charged for allegedly using scam letters to steal from thousands of Washington and California businesses and charities.
Johnny Q. Nguyen, 49, was charged in an 11-count indictment with multiple counts of mail fraud and money laundering, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington stated Tuesday.
Nguyen, a San Jose, California, resident, allegedly sent mass mailings appearing to be from state agencies
The letters had a fake government letterhead and included fraudulent billing statements, instructing recipients to send checks to a post office in Olympia, Washington, to pay fake registration and filing fees, according to the attorney’s office.
The agencies were allegedly told to make the checks payable to Nguyen’s limited liability company called “Business Entities,” authorities stated.
“Thousands of Washington and California victims sent checks, cashier’s checks, and money orders,” the news release stated.
Nguyen allegedly deposited around 350 checks from agencies in Washington, totaling $82,210. He also allegedly cashed 60 checks from California agencies, totaling $8,640. Investigators seized an additional 1,711 pieces of mail that contained $395,295 in total, according to the attorney’s office.
Nguyen is charged with three different types of money laundering, authorities noted, with money laundering and mail fraud being punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The indictment also calls for Nguyen to forfeit the $90,851 he profited.
“As a helpful reminder, if you receive a communication in any form purporting to be from a government agency, the best way to verify the source is to call the agency directly using a publicly available phone number on the agency’s website,” the attorney’s office wrote.
Nguyen is scheduled to appear in the Western District of Washington on July 1.
Follow Julia Dallas on X. Read her stories here. Submit news tips here.