Sacramento Man Sentenced for Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme Using Stolen U.S. Mail

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. sentenced a Sacramento man today for his participation in a scheme that involved stealing and deconstructing U.S. Postal Service locks to reverse engineer keys in order to steal U.S. Mail, steal identities and defraud financial institutions, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Dang Vue, 28, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. On November 17, 2017, Vue and his co-defendant, Billee Vang, 27, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of stolen U.S. mail, stealing and reproducing postal service locks and keys, and unlawful possession of at least five identification documents for fraudulent purposes.

According to court documents, between January 13, 2017, and May 12, 2017, Vue and Vang stole mail throughout Sacramento and Placer Counties, including neighborhoods in Roseville, Elk Grove, and Sacramento. As part of their criminal scheme, Vue and Vang stole Postal Service locks and used them to reverse engineer keys to open neighborhood mailbox units and steal mail from them.

Vue and Vang used the stolen mail, including checks and identification documents, to take over victim bank and credit accounts. Additionally, they used and attempted to use credit and debit cards, credit card convenience checks, and personal checks that had been stolen from postal customers to conduct unauthorized transactions at the expense of federally insured financial institutions.

On May 12, 2017, when arrested in Elk Grove, the defendants were found to possess numerous reverse engineered counterfeit keys, metal filing tools, pry bars and other burglary tools, and stolen U.S. mail from neighborhood mailbox units.

This case is the product of investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Elk Grove Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, and the Roseville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

Vang is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Burrell on May 4, 2018. He faces up to 30 years in prison for the bank fraud convictions, and a mandatory consecutive two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. He also faces up to five years in prison for theft of U.S. Mail, 10 years in prison for stealing and reproducing postal service locks and keys, and 15 years in prison for possessing over five identity documents for purposes of fraud.