Ex-Melrose, MA, Firefighter Sentenced for Identity Theft

A former Massachusetts firefighter and Vietnamese national was sentenced to over two years in prison on Wednesday for stealing the identity of a 13-year-old who died in 2002 and using it to gain employment for six years, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Braintree resident Truong Nguyen, 50, pleaded guilty to passport fraud and aggravated identity theft in March, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release. He will be deported upon completion of his prison sentence.

Federal authorities began investigating Nguyen after he submitted a passport application using the victim’s identification information at a U.S. post office in Weymouth in March 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. After reviewing the application and verifying records showing the victim had died, the Boston Passport Agency denied the application and forwarded it and supporting documents Nguyen had submitted to federal law enforcement.

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 and a Social Security card, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He also used the victim’s identity to obtain an EMT-Basic Certification in 2021 and an EMT-Paramedic Certification in 2023 before applying for a job as a paramedic.

Then, in November 2023, Nguyen used the victim’s identity to gain entrance into the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. After graduating, he worked for the Melrose Fire Department until May 2024 when he was arrested.

Nguyen was previously investigated by the Massachusetts RMV in August 2018 after it discovered that he had been issued two licenses under different identities — his own and the victim’s, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. But at the hearing, he convinced RMV officials that the victim’s identity was his true identity, resulting in the case being closed with a six-month suspension on the license in the victim’s identity and a permanent suspension on the license with his real name.

Nguyen originally immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 as a legal permanent resident, but after being convicted of second-degree burglary in 1991, his status was revoked, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. It was ordered that he be deported, but the deportation never happened.

Nguyen was later arrested in 2010 under the name Truong X. Nguyen and charged with embezzlement and larceny, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. In that case, he was accused of stealing over $46,000 from the Norwell Firefighters Union while working as a union officer.

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