Staff Reports

(Photo Courtesy: Santa Ana PD)
Dao Nguyen

Santa Ana – On Sun., Mar. 1, at approximately 11:15 a.m., officers responded to the Tu Nghiem Temple at 5418 W. 4th Street, in reference to a group of approximately 30 people who were at the Temple demanding the return of money from the head monk, Dao Nguyen, 44. The members of the group alleged that Nguyen had defrauded them of thousands of dollars after he collected monies for a congregational trip to Vietnam that never occurred.
Detectives have identified 34 victims of the fraud. Each victim gave Nguyen between $1,100 and $7,700 as payment for airline tickets and travel expenses related to a trip to Vietnam which would have departed on Mar. 2.  Detectives estimate the total loss to be about $97,000. The group had planned to tour Buddhist Temples throughout the country.
On Feb. 28, a suspicious fire broke out in Nguyen’s bedroom at the Temple. The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) responded to the fire, but it had been extinguished by another resident of the Temple prior to their arrival. OCFA investigators consider the fire suspicious, but have not concluded their investigation. Nguyen claimed that the tickets and passport documents for the trip were destroyed in the fire.
Subsequent investigation revealed that no tickets were ever purchased. Nguyen claimed that he had paid an unidentified suspect in Vietnam to handle the group’s logistics (lodging, transportation, meals) once they arrived in the country. An additional suspect in the United States was to handle the purchase of the airline tickets. This person allegedly delivered the tickets on Feb. 28, just hours before the fire broke out. When the airline was contacted, it was determined no tickets had been sold in the names of the victims. Nguyen alleged that the tickets were counterfeit and that the money was stolen by this unidentified person who has not yet been located.
On Fri., Mar. 27, at approximately 9:15 a.m., Police Officers responded to the Temple and discovered that Nguyen had died from an apparent suicide.
The investigation into the fraud continues. Nguyen is a “person of interest” in the theft of the money, but detectives have not discounted the possibility that additional persons might be involved. Detectives hope that a pending review of bank, email, and telephone records, as well as additional interviews with potential witnesses and victims, will identify the perpetrator(s).
Anyone who has additional information is asked to contact Cpl. Shannon Rackley at (714) 245-8431.