For release on February 16, 2012   CONTACT PERSON:           Jennifer Deng, Deputy District Attorney High Tech Unit Economic Crimes Group (408) 792-2875    BANK EMPLOYEE AND COUSIN SENTENCED FOR QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR BANK ACCOUNT TAKEOVER   On February 14, 2012, Pang Thao, 26, of Elk Grove, CA, was sentenced in Santa Clara County Superior Court by Judge Rene Navarro to three (3) 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, CA, was sentenced to one (1) year in the County Jail for Identity Theft and Grand Theft crimes with an Aggravated White Collar Crime Enhancement, all felonies.    In March of 2011, Ms. Thao accessed a Los Altos elderly couple’s certificate account located at a Palo Alto Credit Union. Ms. Thao was a call taker in Rocklin, CA for the Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union, now called First Tech Federal Credit Union. Ms. Thao created a PIN number for on-line access without authorization. Ms. Thao then closed out the victims’ account, and transferred all the funds, totaling over $256,000, to her cousin, Ms. Vang’s account. In April and May, 2011, Ms. Vang transferred most of the funds back to Ms. Thao and Ms. Thao’s immediate family members. Some of the stolen money looks to have been spent on shopping sprees at such stores as Walmart and Nordstrom.   The victims, who were in their 70’s, discovered their account had been emptied in May, 2011, when they received their bank statement.  They 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 case was investigated by REACT, a Bay Area high-technology crimes and identity theft task force directed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.  REACT’s quick response led to the freeze and recovery of approximately $85,000 of the stolen funds, as well as the seizure of a 2007 Acura MDX, which was purchased with the illegally obtained funds.