Man Living In Braintree Used Stolen Identity To Become MA Firefighter

BRAINTREE, MA — A man from Vietnam who'd been living in Braintree using another person's identity has pleaded guilty to identity theft and passport fraud.

John Doe, a/k/a “Truong Nguyen,” 40, pleaded guilty to the two charges this week. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for June 12.

The defendant 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.

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, Doe provided the victim’s date of birth and Social Security number, a copy of the victim’s U.S. birth certificate and a Massachusetts driver’s license with the victim’s information.

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 HH (the victim) when reviewing the application. The Social Security number, date of birth and parental information provided by Doe 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 defendant.

A subsequent investigation determined that the defendant 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.

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

From November 2023 to January 2024, Doe used the deceased victim’s identity to attend the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. After graduating, the defendant 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 Doe (while using the identity of the victim) was the subject of an RMV fraud hearing in August 2018, after a facial recognition hit determined the defendant 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, Doe 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 – determining the victim was Doe’s true identity and suspending his license for six months.

However, the investigation found that 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 physically deported to Vietnam. Nguyen was later arrested in 2010 for embezzlement and larceny after allegedly stealing over $46,000 from the Norwell Firefighters Union while working as an officer of the union.

At the plea hearing, John Doe stated under oath that his true identity is Truong Nguyen.

The charge of false statement in a passport application provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory minimum of two years in prison to be added to the felony committed while using the means of identification of another without lawful authority.