Conspiracy Involved Target Department Store’s REDcard Accounts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Three of nine defendants were arrested today for participating in a credit card fraud conspiracy aimed at Target REDcard account holders across the United States and involving hundreds of fraudulent transactions and at least 1,000 victims, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
A 12-count indictment, unsealed today, charges nine defendants with conspiracy, credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft, and illegal possession of credit card-making equipment. The indictment alleges that Stockton residents Boon B. Khoonsrivong, 38; Thongchone Vongdeng, 35; Daisy Sysengrat, 29; Vuthiya Tim, 30; Meghan Paradis, 31; Sequoia Valverde, 32; Amber Collins, 30; Somaly Siv, 29; and Jaffrey Brown, 31, conspired to make and use unauthorized credit cards at large retailers, relying on fraudulently obtained victims’ identities. Today, law enforcement agents arrested Vongdeng, and Brown, in Stockton. Agents arrested Siv in Reno, Nevada. The other six defendants remain at large.
According to the indictment, between March 2014 and September 2014, the nine conspirators obtained personal information from victims through various methods. The conspirators then used that information to create unauthorized credit card accounts and used those cards and accounts to obtain things of value in excess of $1,000. Part of the scheme involved using unauthorized Target REDcard account numbers to buy large amounts of electronics, prepaid gift cards, and other goods at Target locations throughout the Sacramento area, northern California, and elsewhere. The indictment further alleges that one of the defendants, Boone B. Khoonsrivong, possessed device-making equipment with the intent to defraud and engaged in aggravated identity theft.
In all, the indictment alleges that more than 300 counterfeit and unauthorized credit card account numbers were created, used, or sold by members of the conspiracy, and over 1,000 victims have been identified as having had their identities compromised as a result of the conspiracy.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Stockton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys André M. Espinosa and Rosanne L. Rust are prosecuting the case.
If the defendants are convicted, they face maximum statutory penalties ranging from five to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
