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ORIGINAL BY ORDER OF THE COURT

JEFFFERSON B. SESSIONS III filed IN THE
United States Attorney General UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MICHAEL G. WHEAT,CRN 118598 districtofhawaij
ERIC J. BESTE,CRN 226089 OCT I 6 2017 cTT
JANAKI S. GANDHI,CRN 272246
COLIN M. MCDONALD,CRN 286561
^O'clock and^niin
SUEBEIT)A.^rk"
Special Attorneys to the Attorney General
880 Front Street, Room 6293
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: 619-546-8437/8817/9144
Email: michael.wheat@usdoj.gov

Attorneys for the United States

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF HAWAII

Case No.
17-01200 KSC
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff,
V. Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371-
Conspiracy(Felony)
MINH HUNG NGUYEN,

aka "Bobby,"
Defendant.

I, the undersigned complainant being duly sworn, state the following is true

and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

1. Beginning on a date unknown, but no later than June 21, 2013, and

continuing up to and including June 2,2016,within the District ofHawaii,defendant

MINH HUNG NGUYEN(NGUYEN) and other co-conspirators did knowingly and

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willfully combine, conspire, and agree together, with each other and with others to

commit the following offenses against the United States:

a. To knowingly alter and falsify records, documents and tangible

objects with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the
investigation of a matter within the jurisdiction of a department
and agency ofthe United States, in violation of Title 18, United
States Code, Section 1519;

b. To corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official

proceeding^that is,a federal criminal prosecution brought in the
United States District Court for the District of Hawaiiin
violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c); and

c. To knowingly and willfully make a materially false, fictitious,

and fraudulent statement in a matter within thejurisdiction ofthe
executive branch of the Government of the United States^that
is, a United States Postal Inspection Service investigation and
prosecution of an individual for a mailbox theftin violation of
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

2. It was a purpose of the conspiracy to alter evidence and documents,

provide false information to the United States Postal Inspection Service(USPIS)and

the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii(USAO-Hawaii), and

present false testimony and evidence in a criminal trial in the United States District

Court for the District of Hawaii (USDC-Hawaii), in connection with a criminal

investigation and prosecution of G.K.P. for allegedly stealing a United States Postal

Service mailbox.

3. In furtherance of the conspiracy and effect the objects thereof, the

conspirators committed the overt acts outlined in the affidavit in support of this
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complaint, including on or about July 5, 2013, during an interview conducted by a

USPIS Inspector, NGUYEN falsely reported that he was present when co-

conspirator Niall Silva (charged elsewhere) recovered the hard drive from CCl's

residence.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

I further state that I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of

Investigation(FBI)and that this complaint is based on the following affidavit which

is attached hereto and made part ofthis complaint by this reference.

DATED; HONOLULU,HAWAII: October 17.

NICOLE VALLIERES,Special Agent

Federal Bureau ofInvestigation

Sworn and subscribed before me,this

jd,^Oo4QY of October, 2017:

KEVIN S.C. CHANG

United States Magistrate JudgeN
District of Hawaii
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AFFIDAVIT OF NICOLE VALLIERES

NICOLE VALLIERES,Special Agent ofthe Federal Bureau ofInvestigation

(FBI), being duly sworn, deposes and states the following:

1. I am a duly appointed Special Agent of the FBI and have been

employed as such since July 2014. I am authorized to investigate violations ofTitle

18, United States Code, Sections 371, 1519, 1512(c), and 1001. I am currently

assigned to the White Collar Squad in the Honolulu Division ofthe FBI.

2. This affidavit is made in support ofa complaint charging MINH HUNG

NGUYEN(NGUYEN)with Conspiracy in violation ofTitle 18, U.S.C., Section 371.

Because ofthe limited purpose ofthis affidavit, it does not contain every fact known

by me or other investigators working on this investigation. Unless otherwise

indicated, all dates and times discussed below are approximations in Hawaii Standard

Time.

3. Based on the facts contained herein, I submit there is probable cause to

believe NGUYEN and other co-conspirators did knowingly and willfully combine,

conspire,and agree together, with each other and with others to commit the following

offenses against the United States;Destruction, Alteration,or Falsification ofRecords

in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519; to corruptly obstruct,

influence, and impede an official proceeding, in violation of Title 18, United States
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Code, Section 1512(c); and to knowingly and willfully make a materially false,

fictitious, and fraudulent statement in a matter within thejurisdiction ofthe executive

branch ofthe Government ofthe United States in violation ofTitle 18, United States

Code, Section 1001. The information contained below is from my personal

knowledge, other law enforcement officers, or from those specific sources as set

forth.

4. According to records provided by the Honolulu Police Department

("HPD"), at all relevant times Defendant NGUYEN was a police officer employed

by HPD in the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU), as a "footman." The CIU is a

specialized unit of the HPD, chosen by the executive staff of HPD to gather

intelligence in organized crime and terrorism cases. NGUYEN was supervised in

CIU by a lieutenant and a captain, who ultimately reported to the HPD's Chief of

Police.

5. The conduct described herein relates to the alleged theft of a mailbox

located at CCl's residence on June 21, 2013, at approximately 11:30 p.m. As

discussed more fully below, a video recording was apparently made of the alleged

theft. I have reviewed this video, which shows a white four-door sedan drive up and

park in front ofthe residence. A male then got out ofthe driver's side ofthe vehicle,

walked over toward the mailbox, and with little effort lifted the security-style

mailbox off its post. The male suspect then opened the rear passenger door and
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placed the mailbox inside the vehicle. After closing the door, the male suspect

walked around the rear ofthe vehicle, got back in the driver's seat, and drove away.

THE CONSPIRACY

6. On December 16,2016,former HPD officer(and CIU technician)Niall

Silva appeared in United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, waived

indictment, and pled guilty to a single-coimt information charging him with

conspiring to commit the offenses of Destruction, Alteration, or Falsification of

Records in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519; Corruptly

Obstructing,Influencing, and Impeding an Official Proceeding, in violation of Title

18, United States Code, Section 1512(c); and Making False Statements, in violation

of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. As part of his guilty plea, Silva

admitted under oath that he agreed with various co-conspirators to commit these

offenses in connection with a federal criminal investigation and prosecution of an

individual (G.K.P.)for the theft of a mailbox from the residence of Co-conspirator

No.l ("CCl"). Silva further admitted that as part of the conspiracy, he and Co-

conspirator No. 2 ("CC2") provided false information to a United States Postal

Inspection Service ("USPIS") Inspector, including the false claim that Silva had

personally retrieved a hard drive containing video evidence from CCl's residence,

when in fact CC2 had retrieved the hard drive from CCl's residence and had
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delivered the hard drive to Silva at HPD headquarters. According to Silva, CC2 is

NGUYEN.^

OVERT ACTS

7. Based on the evidence described below, I believe there is probable

cause to believe the following overt acts, among others, were committed within the

District of Hawaii in furtherance ofthe conspiracy:

a. After beginning his cooperation with the FBI, Silva stated in an

interview that on Saturday, June 22,2013, he received a call from CC3 on his work

cell phone. At the time, CC3 called Silva to tell him to report to the HPD Main

Station because there had been an incident at CCl's residence.

b. According to Silva, on Saturday June 22, 2013, NGUYEN,CC3, and

CC5 were all present at the HPD Main Station when Silva reported to work. When

Silva arrived at the Main Station, NGUYEN handed Silva the hard drive from CCl's

home video surveillance system (which NGUYEN had already taken from CCl's

residence earlier that day). Silva asked NGUYEN whattime he seized the hard drive;

NGUYEN told Silva 9:00am. SILVA wrote down 8:59am on the evidence chain

'Silva has pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement and is cooperating with the investigation in the
hope ofreceiving a sentencing reduction. United States v. Silva, Case No. CR16-00787-SOM(D.
Hawaii). Although Silva has admitted providing false information to investigators as part of the
conspiracy, and testifying falsely under oath in the criminal trial of G.K.P., the information Silva
has provided in connection with his guilty plea has proven to be reliable and corroborated by other
evidence.
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form. Silva and NGUYEN collectively agreed to put down this false information on

an official HPD form. According to Silva, he processed the hard drive such that

NGUYEN and he could view the video recording.

c. Based on cellular telephone records for NGUYEN obtained by the FBI,

on June 22,2013,at about 1:28 p.m., NGUYEN telephoned CCl.

d. According to records provided by HPD,just a few minutes later at about

1:31 p.m.,CC1 telephoned 911 to report the alleged theft ofa Postal Service mailbox

from CCl's residence the night before. According to HPD records,at approximately

1:35 p.m., an HPD Patrol Officer arrived at CCl's residence to investigate the

complaint ofthe alleged stolen mailbox. According to this Patrol Officer- who has

been interviewed by the FBI ~ CCl stated someone stole her mailbox and there was

possibly mail inside it. CCl said she may have an idea who stole the mailbox, but

did not want to say anything until the video was reviewed. This statement was the

first time the HPD Patrol Officer was aware ofany video cameras. CCl said she did

not know how to review the video, but she would do so with a relative. CCl said if

she saw anything on the video, she would call 911 and have the video taken as

evidence.

e. According to Silva and records obtained from HPD, at approximately

2:30 p.m., Silva was present with NGUYEN reviewing the video captured on the
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hard drive from CCl's residence. According to Silva, NGUYEN identified G.K.P.

as a person depicted on the hard drive "stealing" the mailbox.

f. According to a report provided by the USPIS, on July 5, 2013,

NGUYEN was interviewed by a USPIS Inspector. During that interview NGUYEN

advised he had reviewed the surveillance video footage ofthe mailbox theft and was

able to identify the suspect as G.K.P. On April 21,2016,during NGUYEN's federal

grand jury testimony, he again identified G.K.P. as the male in the video based on

the male's stature, build, and walk. However, based on my review of the video

footage and observations of G.K.P., and the observations of other persons familiar

with G.K.P. and the footage, the male depicted in the video does not appear to be

G.K.P. In addition, G.K.P. has repeatedly denied being the person who "stole"

CCl's mailbox, including during a polygraph examination administered to him on

July 23, 2015. According to the FBI polygrapher administering this examination,

G.K.P. gave no indications of deception when he denied being the male depicted in

the video. Although polygraph results are generally not admitted into evidence in

criminal cases, the FBI still considers a polygraph to be a valid investigative

technique. Moreover, based on my training and experience and the experience of

other experienced agents with whom I have spoken, I believe that properly

administered polygraph examinations can assist in determining the reliability of a

witness.
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g. According to Silva, on or about June 22, 2013, after 2:30 p.m., he

excised portions ofdata recovered fi*om the hard drive that NGUYEN retrieved fi'om

CC1's residence,and transferred those excised portions to disks. According to Silva

and an HPD Follow-up report,completed and signed by Silva on July 1,2013,a total

of four (4) discs containing surveillance video were logged into evidence.

According to Silva, on or about June 22, 2013, after 2:30pm, at the HPD Main

Station, he gave copies of the excised surveillance videos to other co-conspirators

who were HPD officers.

h. According to Silva,the original hard drive(containing the entire video)

was not submitted into evidence - despite HPD protocol to the contrary. This was

because CC3 (a more senior HPD officer) instructed Silva not to put the original

hard drive into HPD evidence; instead, Silva kept the hard drive in his desk. Silva

inquired with CC3 on three separate occasions as to what he should do with the

original hard drive. CC3 instructed SILVA to hang onto it. According to Silva, the

original hard drive was placed back into circulation in December 2013 on SILVA's

last day of work before he retired.

i. On or about July 5, 2013, NGUYEN was interviewed by the USPIS

Inspector,at which time he falsely reported that he was present when Silva recovered

the hard drive from CCl's residence on June 22, 2013. In addition to being

contradicted by Silva's admissions under oath in his guilty plea, NGUYEN'S claim
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11

is contradicted by bank records showing that at the time NGUYEN says he was

meeting with Silva at CCl's residence, Silva was conducting transactions at bank

branches in different locations in Honolulu.

j. On or about June 18, 2014, at about 10:49 a.m., Silva falsely told a

USPIS Inspector that he personally recovered the hard drive from CCl's residence.

Silva explained that he personally checked the surveillance equipment to ensure it

was working properly. He stated he then recovered the hard drive and transported it

to the HPD Main Station.

k. Based on cellular telephone records for SILVA obtained by the FBI,

and Silva's statements since his cooperation began, Silva and NGUYEN repeatedly

discussed the false statements they were both providing to federal investigators. For

example,on or about June 18,2014,at about 1:17 p.m., after SILVA spoke to USPIS

Inspectors, he called NGUYEN. The next day(Jime 19,2014), Silva again provided

false information to the USPIS Inspector about HPD's "investigation" ofan alleged

mailbox theft from CCl's residence. And the following day(June 20,2014), Silva

again called NGUYEN.

1. According to Silva and telephone toll records obtained by the FBI, on

or about December 1,2014,NGUYEN and SILVA discussed the false testimony the

conspirators expected to provide at the upcoming federal criminal trial ofG.K.P. for

theft ofthe mailbox.

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m. On or about December 4, 2014, Silva falsely testified in the trial of

G.K.P. that on June 22, 2013, at 8:59 a.m., he personally went to CCl's residence,

verified the security system was in good working order on the date and time of the

incident (June 21, 2013, 10:31 p.m.), that recordings were made, and that he

retrieved the recordings from the residence. Silva also confirmed preparing reports

(falsely) documenting his retrieval ofthe hard drive.

n. Based on cellular telephone records for SILVA obtained by the FBI and

statements made by Silva,on or about December 4,2014,NGUYEN and Silva spoke

about what Silva had said during his testimony and the false evidence provided in

the federal criminal trial ofG.K.P.

o. Based on cellular telephone records for NGUYEN obtained by the FBI,

on or about November 19,2015,at about 3:42 p.m., after being contacted by the FBI

about G.K.P.'s trial, NGUYEN contacted Silva.

p. On or about November 24, 2015, NGUYEN provided false and

misleading information to the FBI about the alleged mailbox theft from CCl's

residence. NGUYEN stated, amongst other things, that he let Silva into the garage

at CCl's residence on Jime 22, 2013. When SILVA arrived, NGUYEN waited for

Silva to"do his thing." NGUYEN stated he did not witness the extraction ofthe hard

drive from CCl's surveillance system; he just waited for Silva. NGUYEN claimed
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that he and Silva then went to the HPD Main Station together after the hard drive

was extracted.

Based on these facts and circumstances, there is probable cause to believe

that MINH HUNG NGUYEN and other co-conspirators did knowingly and willfully

combine, conspire, and agree together, with each other and with others in violation

of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.

NICOLE VALLIERES,Special Agent

Federal Bureau ofInvestigation
U.S. Department of Justice
Subscribed and sworn to
before me this j^^day
of October,2017.

KEVIN S.C. C
United States Magistrate Judge
District of Hawaii