Australian banker steals AUD 489k after falling for a crypto scam

An Australian banker named Dennis Nguyen has been sentenced to 18 months after stealing AUD 489,000 from his customers. Nguyen lost nearly all his life savings years ago to a crypto scam and then turned to the villain. 

In late 2021, Nguyen was an employee at National Australia Bank (NAB), and at that time, he lost AUD 20,000 to a crypto scam. That incident turned him into a villain, following in the footsteps of his scammers. The former banker used his knowledge of the banking system and began scamming his customers.  

The former banker scammed his customers

Nguyen executed a sophisticated scam. He started stealing customer data from NAB and then used this data to create fake accounts at Commonwealth Bank. Once the fake accounts were set up, Nguyen started transferring large amounts of money from NAB to Commonwealth Bank.

Nguyen chose his victims carefully. He targeted customers who deposited extra payments into their home loans. He managed to complete two transactions of AUD 70,000 and AUD 50,000; however, the customers took notice, and NAB reimbursed them after investigating the incident.

NAB fired Nguyen on November 26, 2021, and reported the fraud to the police. After a year passed, Nguyen found another job at Judo Bank and started working on his scheme. He stole AUD 167,500 from a customer in just a few transactions. 

Before executing the scam, Nguyen spoke to his customer on the phone twice and learned that she had trouble remembering events due to her multiple sclerosis illness. 

He used this information to empty her term deposit without even creating a fake profile, then funneled the money straight into his own ANZ bank account.

Judo Bank investigated the incident and questioned Nguyen about it, but he denied everything and claimed that the customer stole his identity details. Nguyen was fired for the second time, and Judo Bank reported the case to the police. 

After losing two jobs, Nguyen didn’t give up. He started posing as a Judo Bank manager named Patrick. He used a fake identity to write reviews on savings account comparison websites. Then, he attracted victims by telling them that if they emailed her directly, he would offer them better interest rates than what’s being offered by Judo Bank.

One person fell for the scam and transferred 200k to Nguyen’s bank account; however, Judo Bank reimbursed the amount. A couple almost fell for the scam and were about to send AUD 500k, but they stopped after Nguyen used his first name, Dennis, instead of Patrick in one of the emails. 

The police arrested Nguyen after he scammed his victims and caused a total loss of AUD 489,000.

While the crime was serious, Judge Samantha Marks noted it was influenced by personal circumstances, including his father’s alcoholism, physical abuse, and gambling addiction.

Nguyen expressed remorse, however, the Judge stated that the crime was serious and required a prolonged prison sentence. He pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud and three of theft and will serve 18 months of imprisonment. Nguyen will become eligible for parole in September of next year.

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