Anaheim Woman Federally Charged with Animal Crushing for Allegedly Luring Puppy Under Her Minivan Then Driving Over It

LOS ANGELES - An Orange County woman has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with intentionally killing a pit bull puppy by placing food under her minivan to lure it underneath the vehicle, then driving the minivan forward onto the puppy, subjecting it to extreme physical pain and death, the Justice Department announced today.

Hanh Minh Nguyen, 75, of Anaheim, was charged Thursday with animal crushing, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of seven years in federal prison.

She is expected to make her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana in the coming weeks.

This case is charged under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on November 25, 2019, which established a nationwide prohibition on 'animal crushing' and empowered federal authorities to pursue cases involving extreme acts of cruelty.

"Luring a defenseless puppy with food only to crush him beneath a vehicle is an act of appalling cruelty," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "Thanks to President Trump signing the PACT Act into law, we can bring federal charges for the horrific abuse alleged in this case. We will use every federal tool available to hold animal abusers accountable."

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, in September 2026, law enforcement received a call about a deceased black-and-white male pit bull puppy that appeared to have been intentionally run over. Upon further investigation, law enforcement received a video of a woman in a Honda Odyssey minivan opening a door and releasing the puppy from the vehicle. The animal then moved under the minivan and the driver's door closed.

The driver then opened the door and dropped what appeared to be food on the street near the driver's door and motioned with her hand for the animal to come to the food. As the driver pulled forward, the puppy was run over by the rear driver's side tire. The driver stopped the car and the vehicle remained stopped on top of the puppy for approximately 15 seconds before driving away.

An autopsy revealed that the puppy's cause of death was a crushed skull, leading to complete brain damage. The autopsy indicated that the puppy was alive for several minutes after this traumatic incident and was in severe pain before his death.

Police officers traced the minivan to Nguyen, whom they located and arrested in Anaheim on October 1.

Nguyen also is chargedLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. in Orange County Superior Court with multiple crimes, including felony animal cruelty, and is being prosecuted in that case by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI is investigating this matter with assistance from the Santa Ana Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Dennis Mitchell and Sean D. Peterson of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section is prosecuting this case.