$256,000 Stolen from Los Altos Couple’s Bank Account

Two women are heading to the slammer after fleecing a Los Altos couple’s account at a Palo Alto credit union.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Rene Navarro on Tuesday sentenced Pang Thao, 26, of Elk Grove,to three years in prison for Identity Theft, Computer Hacking, and Elder Fraud crimes with an Aggravated White Collar Crime Enhancement, all felonies.

Nancy Vang, 27, of Sacramento, was sentenced to one year in the County Jail for Identity Theft and Grand Theft crimes with an Aggravated White Collar Crime Enhancement, all felonies. 

In March of last year, Thao broke into the elderly couple’s account at First Tech Credit Union after creating a PIN for authorization. Thao then closed the victims’ account and transferred all their money—$256,000 in total—to her cousin, Ms. Vang’s account.

In April and May of last year, Vang then transferred most of the money back to Thao and Thao’s family. Some of the stolen money was allegedly spent on shopping sprees at Walmart and Nordstrom, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen.

The victims, both in their 70’s, noticed their account had been emptied in May of 2011 after receiving their bank statement. The couple immediately reported the theft to the bank and police.

“It is outrageous that these women targeted an elderly couples' life savings to buy extravagant things,” Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng said.  “I hope their sentences show other potential thieves that this type of criminal behavior is not to be tolerated.”  

The investigation into the case was led by REACT, a Bay Area high-tech crime and identity theft task force run by the DA’s office. REACT moved quickly to freeze and recover about $85,000 of the stolen funds, as well as seizing a 2007 Acura MDX, which was purchased with the stolen money.