INDIANAPOLIS: A Carmel man who admitted guilt to participating in a global identity theft conspiracy was given an eight-and-a-half-year sentence in federal prison.
Following his indictment in February 2020, Tuong Quoc Ho, also known as Robert Parker, 36, entered a guilty plea to twenty counts of wire fraud, two charges of aggravated identity theft, possession of numerous unauthorized access devices, unlawful possession of identification, and two counts of money laundering.
According to court records, Ho oversaw a global fraud scheme between February 2020 and 2013. He conned about $2 million from several victims all over the world. Ho and his accomplices used personally identifiable information to open bogus PayPal and eBay accounts in the names of their victims in order to carry out the global plan.
Ho then made up fictitious eBay listings for pricey products including blood pressure monitors, PlayStation systems, American Girl dolls, and Vera Bradley purses. Ho utilized stolen credit cards to “drop ship” the purchased item to the client, even though he did not have the products when the postings were made. Due to the use of credit cards that had been stolen, Ho and his accomplices were able to make money on a number of things that were sold for less than their true value.
Ho connected the fictitious PayPal and eBay accounts to his actual bank account details in order to obtain the money. PayPal would occasionally notice unusual activity on Ho’s account. Ho would fabricate documents to look like they belonged to the account holder using altered personal information from his identity theft victims in order to produce the needed paperwork.
Ho stole more than $2 million in total, sent $1.2 million to his family in Vietnam, and used money laundering to pay more than $300,000 for his Carmel house.
After a thorough investigation, the FBI and Carmel police solved the case.
Zachary A. Myers, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, stated, “Over seven years, the Defendant stole hundreds of identities and millions of dollars, exploiting eCommerce and financial platforms in a complex international scheme.” “Working in tandem with top-notch investigators like the FBI and Carmel Police Department, our office is committed to protecting the public from these dangerous identity theft scams. The severe federal prison term that was handed down today ought to serve as a reminder to con artists that we will do all in our power to track them down and hold them responsible for the devastation that they inflict.
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