Woodbury Man Stole Identities Of More Than 300 People: Charges

WOODBURY, MN — Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announced that Hai Jay Phu Vu, 53, of Woodbury is accused of stealing the identity of more than 300 people in the Twin Cities metro. Vu is charged with identity theft and two counts of obtaining unemployment benefits through false representation.

The identity theft occurred through Vu’s former job with House of Charity, a nonprofit organization where he obtained personal information on donors, authorities said.

Vu purchased merchandise, applied for credit cards and made unauthorized withdrawals from other people's bank accounts, according to the criminal complaint.

Vu made his first appearance in court Thursday. Bail was set at $300,000.

"We have found that the frequency of identity theft is greatly increasing," Orput said in a statement. "It is important for us all to guard our personal information zealously. The potential fallout in failing to do so can be economically disastrous for the victims."

Read the entire criminal complaint below:

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