A Burnsville man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after federal authorities say he concocted a fraudulent scheme against a California company that netted him $1.2 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
Thomas Thanh Pham, 53, claimed to be a broker who could connect a California-based electronics manufacturing company in San Jose with his alleged business affiliates in the same industry, court documents show.
As a supposed broker and CEO of Enterprise Products LLC, Pham defrauded the San Jose company by claiming he could facilitate multimillion-dollar manufacturing and repair contracts between the company and other large electronics companies.
He supplied bogus documents, including fabricated contracts, correspondence and business proposals, as part of his scheme and required the company to pay him a deposit of more than $1.2 million and sign a contract with him, court documents show.
To “give the impression” he was fulfilling his end of the bargain, Pham delivered 20 sample electronics devices but failed to disclose that the devices were stolen. Although the victim company demanded a refund, Pham used the funds for a series of “unauthorized uses and transactions.”
Last week, Pham pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
The case was the result of an FBI investigation.
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