Hien Minh Nguyen, Bank Fraud, California 2017

San Jose Cleric Convicted of Bank Fraud

SAN JOSE – In a shocking turn of events, San Jose cleric Hien Minh Nguyen, 57, has been convicted of bank fraud charges, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.

The guilty verdict followed a bench trial before the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman, United States District Judge, who concluded Nguyen was guilty of all fourteen counts of bank fraud, in violation of both 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1) and 1344(2).

According to evidence presented at trial, Nguyen, who was a priest for the Diocese of San Jose, a pastor of St. Patrick’s Church, and the director of the Vietnamese Catholic Center, received donations for St. Patrick’s from parishioners, some of which he deposited into his own personal bank account.

Nguyen also signed checks drawn on VCC’s bank accounts to pay his personal expenses, and received fourteen separate checks made payable to the VCC, which the parishioners intended would be used for the benefit of VCC. However, Nguyen intentionally deposited those checks into his personal bank account.

On December 1, 2015, Nguyen was charged by way of a superseding indictment with fourteen counts of bank fraud, in violation of both 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1) and 1344(2), and four counts of tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201. He pleaded guilty to the tax evasion charges on August 9, 2016.

Nguyen is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, 2017, at 9:00 before Judge Freeman in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2), is thirty years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine or twice the gain/loss from the offense.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael G. Pitman and Thomas Moore, and Trial Attorney Gregory Bernstein of the Tax Division, are prosecuting the case.

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