Serial fraudster Thomas Thanh Pham has been handed a seven-year prison sentence for defrauding a San Jose-based electronics manufacturer out of $1.2 million, in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The 53-year-old former CEO of Enterprise Products, LLC, was also ordered to pay restitution in the hefty sum of almost $3 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson aired his sentiment on the matter, saying, "Fraudsters have flocked to Minnesota for far too long," adding that, "Pham is no exception. He is a serial fraudster who has demonstrated that he will not stop until he is stopped," as Thompson put words to Pham's criminal saga that has spanned decades, starting with unrelated offenses 32 years ago and evolving into an elaborate and sophisticated scam that, in its most recent iteration targeted the Californian firm under the guise of lucrative service agreements.
"Bad actors like Pham take advantage of hardworking Americans in order to enrich themselves by defrauding others," commented Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. from FBI Minneapolis, underscoring the impact of such schemes on genuine businesses and the wider economic fabric. The FBI's involvement in unearthing and prosecuting the scheme highlights its ongoing efforts to clamp down on predatory fraudulent activities.
Through a series of deceitful moves—featuring bogus contracts, stolen electronics, and a friend posing as a business executive—Pham convinced the victim company to pay a "deposit bond" of over a million dollars, Pham, with a lengthy history of criminal fraud managed to maintain this ruse for some time, even though he has repeatedly been convicted on numerous fraud offenses including Felony Theft of Property, Felony Unlawful Possession of Fraudulent Identification, and Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which Pham used the identities of victim companies to defraud victims out of $1.9 million by deceiving them into shipping high-dollar electronics and computers.
At the sentencing, Judge Ericksen described Pham as an "efficient and effective perpetrator of fraud," noting that his latest scheme was "part of a skilled execution of a scheme that he has refined over decades." The immediate remand into custody was prompted by the perceived danger Pham posed to the public if he were to remain at liberty. This case, having been unravelled through the tenacious investigation by the FBI, brings temporary reprieve to the community while placing Pham behind bars where his fraudulent escapades are put to a halt, at least for the duration of his 84-month sentence.
