Vietnamese National Sentenced to Prison for Using Stolen Identity of Deceased Child for Six Years

BOSTON – A Vietnamese man residing in Braintree, Mass., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. The defendant stole the identity of a deceased minor victim and ultimately used the stolen identity to work as a paramedic and firefighter, attending the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and securing employment at the Melrose Fire Department in the name of the victim. Defendant also previously worked for the Norwell Firefighters Union as officer of the union.

Truong Nguyen, 50, “a/k/a John Doe,” was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 25 months in prison. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In March 2025, Nguyen, whose identity was not known at the time he was charged, pleaded guilty to passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. Nguyen was arrested and charged in May 2024 and released on conditions including an unsecured bond of $50,000. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024. 

“This defendant has illegally resided in the Unites States for over 30 years, assuming false identities to dodge deportation resulting from a 1991 felony conviction. For the last six years, Mr. Nguyen exploited the identity of a deceased child to avoid accountability for a litany of criminal offenses, including attempting to obtain a U.S. passport and falsifying information to become a firefighter,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Such identity fraud undermines the integrity of our identification systems. Our office is committed to holding accountable those who steal American identities and manipulate our public institutions for personal gain.”

“Deterring, detecting, and investigating U.S. passport and visa fraud are essential to protecting the integrity of consular processes and safeguarding our national security,” said Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Boston Field Office. “DSS, working with our law enforcement partners, successfully led this investigation which brought charges and a conviction against this individual who committed identity theft, passport fraud, and then evaded U.S. law enforcement by assuming the identity of a deceased child for many years.”

In March 2023, the defendant submitted a passport application in-person at the U.S. post office in Weymouth, presenting himself to be an individual identified as HH (the victim). In support of the application, Nguyen provided the victim’s name, date of birth and Social Security number, a copy of the victim’s U.S. birth certificate, as well a Massachusetts driver’s license with the victim’s information purporting to be his own. 

In June 2023, the Boston Passport Agency forwarded the defendant’s passport application and supporting documents to federal law enforcement, after verifying a death record for the victim when reviewing the application. The Social Security number, date of birth and parental information provided by Nguyen in his passport application matched the records for the deceased victim. It was ultimately confirmed that the victim died in Boston in 2002 at the age of 13. The passport was not issued to the Nguyen. 

A subsequent investigation determined that Nguyen used the victim’s identity to obtain and use multiple government-issued identification documents in the victim’s name, including Massachusetts driver’s licenses in June 2018, January 2019 and April 2023, as well as a Social Security card in the victim’s name in 2018.  

Nguyen also used the deceased victim’s identity to obtain an EMT-Basic Certification in 2021 and an EMT-Paramedic Certification in 2023, before applying for employment as a paramedic, again using the stolen identity.  

From November 2023 to January 2024, Nguyen used the deceased victim’s identity to attend the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. After graduating, Nguyen began employment with the Melrose Fire Department in the name of the victim, where he worked until his arrest in May 2024.

The investigation further revealed that Nguyen (while using the identity of the victim) was the subject of an RMV fraud hearing in August 2018, after facial recognition determined the Nguyen had been issued Massachusetts driver’s licenses under two separate identities – that of an individual identified as Truong Nguyen issued in February 2018 and that of the deceased victim issued in June 2018. At the fraud hearing, Nguyen claimed the victim’s identity was his true identity and presented a birth certificate and Social Security card issued under the deceased victim’s identity. As a result of the hearing, RMV closed the case – believing the victim was Nguyen’s true identity – and suspended the license he had in the name of the deceased victim for six months, while suspending the license in his real name without reinstatement. 

According to court records, “John Doe” matched the identity of Nguyen and the individual’s corresponding records which span from 1997 to 2018. Specifically, Nguyen entered the United States from Vietnam in 1979 as a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). In 1995, Nguyen’s LPR status was revoked and he was ordered deported after being convicted of second-degree burglary in 1991. Although ordered deported, the investigation revealed that Nguyen was not deported to Vietnam. Nguyen was later arrested in 2010 under the name Truong X. Nguyen for embezzlement and larceny after allegedly stealing over $46,000 from the Norwell Firefighters Union while working as an officer of the union. 

At his March 2023 plea hearing, “John Doe” stated under oath that his true identity is Truong Nguyen.

U.S. Attorney Foley and DSS SAC O’Brien made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Melrose Fire Department; Braintree and Melrose Police Departments; and the Middlesex County and Norfolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.