Two from Fountain Valley arrested in fraud, identity theft ring case

Two people from Fountain Valley were among five people from Orange County arrested in connection with a fraud and identity theft ring authorities believe is operating throughout the state.

Nhan Hoang Pham, 29, of Fountain Valley was taken into custody by the Orange County Sheriff’s for multiple thefts and burglaries in the past months in North Orange County, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Another suspect, according to inmate records for the Orange County Jail, is listed under two names: Duynam Minh Dao and Duynam Hoang Dao. She is 23, also of Fountain Valley.

The SWAT Team, probation officers and sheriff’s investigators issued search warrants on Thursday morning, and did parole and probation checks in Santa Ana and Westminster, said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the sheriff’s department.

“During the searches, four semi-automatic handguns, 8 Las Vegas style video poker machines, approximately 1/2 pound of methamphetamine, a box of Target gift cards and several thousand dollars were recovered,” Hallock said in a statement.

Fraudulently obtained credit cards, card readers, identity theft profiles, card blanks, computers, data storage devices and several cell phones were also found in the searches. The five suspects are believed to be working with a larger identity theft ring working throughout California.

Authorities believe there are hundreds of potential victims and are trying to identify them through financial information they found in their searches.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or at occrimestoppers.org.