Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Defendant Used Stolen Funds to Pay for Personal Travel, Luxury Purses, and College Tuition
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury yesterday convicted Antonietta Nguyen of multiple counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to transport monetary instruments for the purpose of laundering, and tax evasion in connection with a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from a San Francisco-based seafood company. The jury’s verdict followed a two-week trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.
Nguyen, 57, of Brisbane, was a minority shareholder of ABS Seafood, a private Former CFO Of Sf Seafood Wholesaler Convicted For Embezzling Over $9 Million From Companyseafood wholesaler and importer, and served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from January 2014 to around May 2020, Nguyen fraudulently used a company credit card and funds from the company’s bank account to pay for millions of dollars of expenses on her personal credit cards. She also charged personal expenses to her corporate credit card, which were then paid for by the company. Nguyen used the stolen funds to pay for personal travel, purses and other luxury goods from Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Goyard, Chanel, and Neiman Marcus, property taxes for one of her residences, and college tuition fees for a relative. The evidence presented at trial showed that Nguyen misappropriated approximately $2.7 million in company funds over the course of six-and-a-half years.
The jury also found that Nguyen devised an inflated invoice scheme involving family members who operated Pescaderia Pacifica International, Inc., a Filipino seafood exporter that was one of ABS’s top vendors and main source for tuna imported into the United States. Nguyen caused ABS to pay over double the true value of the imported seafood by creating false invoices that Nguyen hid from others at the company. Her family members then split the proceeds, with some of the money being wired back to bank accounts in the United States in the names of Nguyen’s husband and daughters.
The evidence presented at trial also showed that Nguyen evaded personal income taxes that she and her spouse owed for tax years 2018 and 2019 by underreporting the amount of joint taxable income they had for those two years.
“The defendant devised multiple ways to defraud her business partners of several millions of dollars and got away with it for over six years. She exploited her position of trust in order to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself and her family members,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian. “The jury’s verdict today holds the defendant accountable for her long-running fraud scheme.”
“Antonietta Nguyen’s conviction reflects the serious consequences of the scheme she orchestrated to defraud her business partners,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “As CFO, she systematically stole millions from her own company to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, betraying the responsibilities of her position. The FBI remains committed to working with our partners to uncover and stop financial crimes, and to ensure those who commit them are held fully accountable.”
“Antonietta Nguyen’s brazen multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme is a betrayal and breach of trust against her employer and runs afoul of well-established financial law. Her conviction is befitting and a strong deterrent, sending a clear message that white-collar crime has serious consequences.” said IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen. “IRS-CI Special Agents are the experts at tracking down ill-gotten gains and bringing financial criminals to justice.”
Nguyen was released on bond. Nguyen’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 10, 2025 before Judge Illston. Defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine for the count of conspiracy to transport monetary instruments for the purpose of laundering, and five years in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count of willful tax evasion. Any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sailaja M. Paidipaty and Colin Sampson are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Sara Slattery, Janice Pagsanjan, and Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and IRS-CI.