6 arrested in $1.2 million Walmart fraud scheme after dozens of packages found piling up

PEORIA, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — What began with a Walmart driver’s tip about dozens of packages piling up at a home in Arizona led investigators to a million-dollar fraud scheme that stretched to Southeast Asia.

Authorities in Arizona said a Walmart driver told them on Aug. 22 that he’d delivered 30 to 50 packages under different names to the same Peoria-area home in just a couple of days.

Days later, a customer reported that someone had hacked their Walmart account and used it to buy items.

According to court documents, those two reports sparked a two-month investigation that ended Thursday morning with six arrests.

How it happened

Investigators say the group placed about 15,500 orders on Walmart.com using hacked customer accounts and stolen credit and debit card numbers.

They reportedly altered delivery addresses to get around fraud alerts.

“Without that delivery driver, I don’t know if it would have come across our radar,” Peoria police officer William Kennedy said.

Police linked 11,364 orders worth more than $768,000 to six drop houses in Mesa, Avondale, Glendale and Peoria, according to court paperwork.

In total, investigators put the fraud at about $1.23 million.

The merchandise was reportedly funneled through two boba shops in Peoria and Tolleson, before being driven to California to be shipped to Vietnam in containers through U.S. Cargo Shipping LLC.

“Like your average shopper who gets stuff for the dogs, the kids, their house, all those types of items were coming to those houses,” Kennedy said.

So far, police say Walmart has confirmed $57,501 in chargeback losses tied to two victims, and JPMorgan Chase confirmed 203 customers with $8,821 in unauthorized purchases.

Police shared photos showing some of the $25,000 worth of Walmart merchandise recovered in the investigation. Officers also seized $35,000 in cash and $45,000 in gold bars.

Finding the ringleader

Investigators identified 30-year-old Hoài Nguyen Nguyen as the organizer of the illegal operation, which included at least nine other people.

Nguyen denied any involvement in the crimes and told police he was only an employee for U.S. Cargo Shipping LLC, the company he is believed to be the owner of.

Two other suspects reportedly told police Nguyen recruited them to accept packages under different names, track them and load them into his van and U-Haul trailer for drives to California in exchange for a cut of the shipment values.

Search warrants were served across the Valley with help from SWAT teams, Homeland Security Investigations and Walmart investigators.

Ten people were detained; four were released.

Six people were booked into Maricopa County Jail on charges including fraud, identity theft, computer tampering and trafficking in stolen property:

• Thien Tran, 42
• Uy Vu Phan, 55
• Minh Ngọc Nguyen, 57
• Hie Xuan Le, 24
• Hoài Nguyen Nguyen, 30
• Hailey Hang Nguyen, 26

All six face charges of fraudulent schemes and artifices, possession of an access device violation, computer tampering for fraud, aggravated taking of identity and trafficking in stolen property in the first degree, according to court records.