Minnesota Woman Sentenced to Decade in Federal Prison for Defrauding Nail Salon Owner

Press Release

Engaged in "Bill Stuffing" at an Iowa Casino to Conceal Fraud Proceeds

A Minnesota woman who defrauded a nail salon owner out of more than $100,000 and then engaged in "bill stuffing" at an Iowa casino to conceal the fraud proceeds was sentenced on January 10, 2025, to ten years in federal prison. Mary Kate Nguyen, age 37, from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, originally from Vietnam, received the prison term after an April 23, 2023, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and one count of contempt of court.

In her plea and sentencing hearings, Nguyen admitted that in 2016 she told the owner of a Minnesota nail salon that she operated a loan brokering business known as "My Second Chance Financing, Ltd." Nguyen told the victim she could help build the victim's credit by obtaining and then paying off loans for her. The victim provided various means of identification to Nguyen, who used the victim's identity to obtain over $90,000 in loans at four different financial institutions. Nguyen also instructed the victim to make a series of wires with the loan proceeds to Iowa, purportedly to expedite the loan repayment process. Instead of paying off the loans in full, however, Nguyen used loan proceeds for her own benefit.

Between December 2016, and February 2017, Nguyen and others acting at her direction engaged in "bill stuffing" at a casino in Northwood, Iowa. "Bill stuffing" is the practice of creating slot machine tickets by inserting currency and then cashing out those tickets at a casino in order to create a paper trail. By "bill stuffing," Nguyen concealed the illegal source of the funds she had obtained.

A grand jury indicted Nguyen in late 2021, and a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Minnesota released Nguyen pending trial. While on pretrial release in Minnesota, Nguyen used methamphetamine and eventually absconded from supervision. In September 2022, the United States Marshal's Service arrested Nguyen in Minnesota.

While on pretrial release in Minnesota, and later in a jail in Orange City, Iowa, Nguyen attempted to perpetrate a serious of financial frauds in Minnesota and North Dakota. Among other things, Nguyen repeatedly provided false and fraudulent bank statements and other financial documents to banks in attempts to obtain loans to purchase commercial and residential properties. In September 2022, Nguyen submitted the winning bid of $1.3 million to purchase the former federal courthouse in Bemidji, Minnesota. Nguyen also obstructed justice by threating to "hang" investigators.

Nguyen has an extensive criminal history in Minnesota. Nguyen's prior convictions include four convictions for theft by swindle and three convictions for driving while impaired, as well as convictions for theft by check, giving a peace officer a false name, and drug possession.

Nguyen was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Nguyen was sentenced to 120 months' imprisonment and fined $20,000. She was ordered to make $131,175 in restitution to her victim. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

In sentencing Nguyen, Judge Strand stated that Nguyen's conduct while on pretrial release and in jail was "incredible" and "stunning." Judge Strand found Nguyen was an "extreme danger to society" and a "substantial, serious menace to society" with respect to financial crimes.

Nguyen is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until she can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation-Special Enforcement Operations Bureau. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Woodbury (Minnesota) Police Department, U.S. Marshal's Service, Sioux County Sheriff's Office, Iowa State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, and Iowa Division of Intelligence assisted in the investigation.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 21-CR-3037.

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Updated January 15, 2025