Two Citizens Of Malaysia Sentenced In U.S. District Court

          ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Defendant KUAN SIONG TAN, age 23, and Defendant CHOON BOON TAN, age 27, both citizens of Malaysia, were sentenced on March 5, 2014, in the District Court of Guam, for their convictions of aggravated identity theft.  Each defendant was sentenced to a 24-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release.  They were also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of their criminal conduct in the amount of $634.42 for CHOON BOON TAN and $1,961.43 for KUAN SIONG TAN.

On January 8, 2013, KUAN SIONG TAN and CHOON BOON TAN entered Guam from Malaysia.  A secondary inspection by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was conducted, and the defendants were found with numerous counterfeit access devices or credit cards.  Prior to their arrival into Guam, the defendants used counterfeit access devices or credit cards to fraudulently obtain goods and services from a hotel and merchants in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand.  KUAN SIONG TAN possessed 47 counterfeit cards while CHOON BOON TAN possessed 39 such cards.  Some of the credit cards were encoded with stolen credit card account information of account holders in the mainland United States with institutions such as Chase Bank, Bank of America, and Capital One Bank.  KUAN SIONG TAN and CHOON BOON TAN were arrested on January 8, 2013, by agents with the Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service. 

U.S. Attorney Alicia A.G. Limtiaco stated, “Identity theft and related white collar and financial fraud crimes victimize individuals, financial institutions and merchants.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and the Department of Justice are committed to combating identity theft and other white collar and financial fraud crimes.  We will continue to dedicate federal resources effectively to prevent, investigate and prosecute the unlawful use of identifying information.  Federal and local law enforcement are committed to protecting our community and consumers against theft, fraud and other related criminal activity.”

This case was investigated by special agents from the Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Leon Guerrero.