A San Jose, California man has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a scheme that targeted thousands of businesses and charities with fraudulent letters designed to look like official state correspondence. The announcement was made by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.
Johnny Q. Nguyen, 50, admitted to sending mass mailings on fake government letterhead during the fall of 2024. These letters instructed recipients to send checks or money orders for supposed registration and filing fees to a post office box he had rented in Olympia, Washington. Victims were told to make payments out to “Business Entities,” a limited liability company Nguyen created for this purpose.
According to court records, Nguyen received about 350 checks from Washington victims totaling $82,210 and cashed another 60 from California victims amounting to $8,640. Authorities also intercepted an additional 1,711 pieces of mail containing checks and money orders worth $395,295 before they could be deposited.
Nguyen agreed as part of his plea deal to pay $90,850 in restitution to those who sent payments believing they were complying with state requirements.
After being charged in connection with the scheme, Nguyen appeared in U.S. District Court in Northern California where he was ordered to surrender all passports and appear for arraignment in Tacoma. However, on June 24, 2025, he boarded a flight from San Francisco to Taipei using a passport he had not surrendered as required by the court. He was detained upon arrival in Taipei and subsequently returned on a flight back to California where authorities took him into custody. He was later released under pre-trial supervision.
Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo will sentence Nguyen on May 22, 2026. "Chief Judge Estudillo can consider the attempt to flee from justice in determining the appropriate sentence."
Mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment; prosecutors have agreed as part of the plea agreement to recommend a sentence of 33 months.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jehiel I. Baer.
