Tracy Kaplan/San Jose Mercury News
Landlords in San Jose, beware: Loan Nguyen, 49, has been arrested and charged with residential burglary.
The Santa Clara Country District Attorney’s Office decided to press those charges after Nguyen had been convicted of running the same scam in 2012 and 2014. Nguyen has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer declined to comment, saying she is still investigating the case.
Loan Nguyen, 50, of San Jose is being charged with residential burglary.
(Courtesy Santa Clara County District Attorney )
According to prosecutor Victor Chen, Nguyen began her scam by answering room-for-rent ads in a free, local Vietnamese-language weekly called Thang Mo. She’d then tell her prospective landlord sob stories and say she had no cash for rent. By the time the checks bounced, Nguyen and the money would be gone, leaving the landlords with bad credit. When people cash bounced checks, the loss is incurred by the person cashing the check.
Altogether, the District Attorney’s Office alleges Nguyen has stolen more than $200,000 from 11 victims in the past seven years. Nguyen faces more than 20 years in prison, but will likely receive a lesser sentence since it is a nonviolent crime.
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