E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
A Pasadena woman entered a guilty plea today to federal charges related to a stalking campaign and threats against employees at a U.S. consulate in Vietnam. Natalie Nguyen, 39, admitted to one count of stalking and one count of issuing threats by interstate commerce to cause harm and destroy property with fire and explosives.
Nguyen, who has been in custody since February 2024, was involved in a stalking case from April 2023 to February 2024, targeting an individual identified as “T.H.” in court documents. She sent emails threatening violence against T.H. and his wife, including a message about hiring a hitman.
She extended her threats to five employees at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Under the guise of T.H.’s wife, she threatened to "bomb the [expletive] consular in Ho Chi Minh City" in an email sent in August 2023.
In October 2023, Nguyen used T.H.'s email account to send threats to consulate employees: “i wil [sic] kill every [expletive] one of you who has been delaying issuing my wife visa.” In January 2024, impersonating T.H.'s wife, she communicated a threat via an online portal about bombing American consulates in Saigon and San Francisco.
The following month, she threatened with grenades, positing a threat around the lunar new year. These communications heightened concerns at both American and Vietnamese consulates.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett set a sentencing date for June 18. Nguyen could face up to five years for stalking and up to 10 years for issuing threats. The case was investigated by the FBI with help from the Diplomatic Security Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Roldán.
