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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Carmel man has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty to more than two dozen federal offenses, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering related to fraudulent PayPal and eBay accounts, U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler announced Wednesday.
Tuong Quoc Ho, also known as Robert Parker, 36, received a sentence of 102 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney. Sweeney also ordered that Ho spend three years on probation and pay $217,147.87 in restitution.
Investigators say Ho devised and led a complex, international scheme from 2013 to 2020 to defraud multiple victims in the United States and abroad of about $2 million. They say Ho stole more than $2 million and wired $1.2 million to family and other individuals in Vietnam. He also laundered the money, using more than $300,000 to purchase his home in Carmel near 116th Street and Towne Road.
Investigators, including those from the FBI, say Ho, who also used the name Robert Parker and Hoquoctuong, was a dual citizen of the United States and Vietnam.
From about 2013 through August, Ho and others working overseas allegedly obtained personal information from the internet of hundreds of people worldwide, the indictment says.
Investigators say he used the information to fraudulently open PayPal and eBay accounts. He would then link his personal bank accounts to the PayPal accounts to receive and transfer money. More than 500 PayPal accounts were linked to Ho’s personal bank accounts.
The indictment also alleges that Ho and others used the eBay accounts to sell a variety of items that were purchased with stolen credit card information from thousands of individuals. The items included Vera Bradley handbags, American Girl dolls, PlayStations and blood pressure monitoring devices.
Ho also is accused of using the personal information he obtained to generate and submit to PayPal fraudulent documents in the names of other persons, including identification documents (driver’s licenses, passports, social security cards), proof of address documents (utility bills, bank statements) and proof of sales documents (invoices, receipts).
The documents were used to mislead PayPal about the identity of the person who opened and maintain the accounts, as well as the true source of the items being sold on eBay.
On Oct. 24, 2018, Carmel Police Department officers searched Ho’s residence and other buildings and arrested him on state charges. They recovered more than 400 packages of merchandise addressed to Ho’s alias, “Robert Parker.” At least $78,000 worth of that merchandise was purchased with stolen credit cards. Investigators say Ho continued to operate his scheme after his home was searched by law enforcement until his arrest by federal authorities in 2020.
“Over seven years, the defendant stole hundreds of identities and millions of dollars, exploiting e-commerce and financial platforms in a complex international scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers in written remarks. “The serious federal prison sentence imposed today should serve as a warning to fraudsters that we are dedicated to finding you and holding you accountable for the harm you cause.”
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That doesn’t sound like a very severe punishment.