Six suspects have been accused of participating in a massive Walmart fraud operation stretching from Arizona to Vietnam.
Law enforcement in Peoria arrested the individuals who were booked into jail and held on $500,000 cash bonds, Fox 10 reported Thursday.
In a social media post, the Peoria Police Department said its Special Investigations Unit investigated the case for two months and alleged the suspects were involved in the approximately $1.4 million fraud scheme:
The investigation began after a Walmart delivery driver reported delivering numerous packages under different names to a Peoria residence. Investigators identified a network allegedly using stolen credit card information from Walmart customer accounts to purchase merchandise online. The fraudulently purchased items were then shipped to Vietnam in shipping containers.
Investigators coordinated simultaneous search warrants with assistance from Peoria, Mesa, Avondale, and Goodyear SWAT teams. Homeland Security Investigations and Walmart Loss Prevention also assisted.
Investigators recovered approximately $25,000 in merchandise and seized $35,000 in cash and $45,000 in gold bars.
The suspects allegedly placed over 15,000 orders on the store’s website using hacked customer accounts and stolen credit and debit card numbers, while also changing addresses to avoid fraud alerts, AZ Family reported.
“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,” the article said.
The outlet also shared the suspects’ mugshots:
Authorities said Hoài Nguyen Nguyen was identified as the organizer of the operation but denied involvement. The others were identified as Thien Tran, Uy Vu Phan, Minh Ngọc Nguyen, Hie Xuan Le, and Hailey Hang Nguyen.
The charges against the suspects included fraud, identity theft, computer tampering, and trafficking in stolen property.
“Without that delivery driver, I don’t know if it would have come across our radar,” said Officer William Kennedy.