California Man Charged for Scheme Involving Lost Cellphone Claims

April 26, 2021

Thein Kevin Nguyen, 31, of Sacramento, Calif., has been charged with one felony count of fraud for allegedly running a scam where he reportedly filed 35 fraudulent cell phone loss claims, collected the proceeds from the claims, and then sold the cellphones he claimed as lost, profiting from both the insurance proceeds and sales.

Over a three-year period, Nguyen allegedly filed 35 claims for supposed lost cellphones. All of the claims submitted by Nguyen involved very similar backstories such as the phones were either lost while fishing or camping.

Detectives with the California Department of Insurance interviewed Nguyen, who admitted to filing 35 fraudulent cellphone loss claims. Nguyen stated that only three of the cellphone loss claims during this timeframe were legitimate claims and that he received roughly 25 replacement Samsung cellphones as a result of his fraudulent actions.

Nguyen admitted to detectives that he sold each phone on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, making more than $7,000 profit from selling the cell phones. In total, Nguyen attained roughly $24,000 worth of replacement cell phones over the course of three years.

This case is being prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

Topics California Claims

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