BOSTON — A Vietnamese national living in Braintree has pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of a dead 13-year-old for several years, eventually using the stolen name to become a Melrose firefighter.
John Doe, also known as “Truong Nguyen,” 40, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to passport fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement on Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper scheduled sentencing for June 12.
Prosecutors identified the man as “John Doe” because his true identity was unknown at indictment. At the plea hearing, John Doe stated under oath that his true identity is Truong Nguyen, Foley said.
Doe was arrested and charged in May 2024 and released on conditions including an unsecured bond of $50,000. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024.
Prosecutors said that Doe stole the identity of his young cousin, Henry Huang, who died in 2002, to obtain a driver’s license and passport, gain entry into the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, apply for work and ultimately get hired by the Melrose Fire Department in January 2024.
Doe entered the United States from Vietnam legally in December 1979. In 1995, his status was revoked and he was ordered deported after being convicted of second-degree burglary in 1991.
Although ordered deported, an investigation revealed that Doe was not physically deported to Vietnam.
Doe is also accused of using the name Truong Nguyen.
While using the Nguyen alias, Doe was arrested in 2010 for stealing more than $46,000 from the Norwell Firefighters Union while working as an officer of the union, according to prosecutors.
Before being hired by the Melrose Fire Department, Doe obtained a Massachusetts EMT-Basic Certification under Huang’s name, the criminal complaint showed.
In March 2023, Nguyen submitted a passport application in person at the U.S. post office in Weymouth, presenting himself to be the dead victim, Foley said.
For the application, Doe provided the victim’s date of birth and Social Security number, a copy of the victim’s U.S. birth certificate, as well a Massachusetts driver’s license with the victim’s information.
In June 2023, the Boston Passport Agency forwarded Doe’s passport application and supporting documents to federal law enforcement, after verifying a death record for Huang, the dead victim, when reviewing the application.
The Social Security number, date of birth and parental information provided by Doe in his passport application matched the records for the dead victim, prosecutors said. It was ultimately confirmed that Huang died in Boston in 2002 at the age of 13.
The passport was not issued to Doe, Foley said. A subsequent investigation found that he used the victim’s identity to obtain and use multiple government-issued identification documents in the victim’s name, including Massachusetts driver’s licenses in June 2018, January 2019 and April 2023, as well as a Social Security card in the victim’s name in 2018.
Doe also used the dead victim’s identity to obtain an EMT-Basic Certification in 2021 and an EMT-Paramedic Certification in 2023, before going on to apply for employment as a paramedic, again using the stolen identity, prosecutors said.
From November 2023 to January 2024, Doe used the dead victim’s identity to attend the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, prosecutors said. After graduating, Doe started working with the Melrose Fire Department in the name of the victim, where he worked until his arrest last May.
Doe, while using the victim’s identity, was the subject of an RMV fraud hearing in August 2018, prosecutors said. A facial recognition hit determined that Doe had been issued Massachusetts driver’s licenses under two separate identities – that of an individual identified as Truong Nguyen issued in February 2018 and that of the dead victim issued in June 2018.
At the fraud hearing, Doe claimed the victim’s identity was his true identity and presented a birth certificate and Social Security card issued under the dead victim’s identity.
As a result of that hearing, the RMV closed the case, concluding that the victim was Doe’s true identity and suspending his license for six months. However, the investigation found that Doe matched the identity of Nguyen and the individual’s corresponding records which span from 1997 to 2018.
For the charge of false statement in a passport application, Doe faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
For the charge of aggravated identity theft, Doe faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison to be added to the felony committed while using the means of identification of another without lawful authority.
Doe will be subject to deportation proceedings after serving his sentence.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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