Western Pa. resident loses more than $1 million in widespread money laundering scheme, 2 men sentenced

Two California residents have been ordered to pay nearly $4.5 million combined in restitution as part of their federal sentences connected to an international money laundering scheme that impacted some Western Pennsylvania residents.

Thien Phuc Tran, 34, and Ton Huynh Bui, 30, of Santa Ana, scammed people across the country, often elderly, into sending money to bank accounts created with stolen personal identification information, according to Eric Olshan, U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania. Tran was responsible for the majority of the laundering, about $4.2 million.

One Western Pennsylvania resident who was a scam victim lost nearly $1.3 million , Olshan said.

Those impacted by the scam would often receive a “pop-up” message on their computer screen, claiming to be from a technology company, asking the user to call a number. The people who answered the calls were actually co-conspirators working from India.

After calling, the user was told their identity had been compromised. They were told to send money to a bank account opened by Tran and Bui under a stolen identity. Tran and Bui converted the funds to cryptocurrency and moved it through multiple accounts to conceal their identities.

Tran was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison, and Bui was sentenced to four months’ incarceration. Both will serve three years of supervised release following their sentences.

Their crimes will have a long-term impact on the victims, said U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan.

The incident was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.