Thomas P.

O’Brien
NEWS United States Attorney
RELEASE Central District of California

Thom Mrozek, Public Affairs Officer

(213) 894-6947
For Immediate Distribution
thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac
October 1, 2008

FORMER CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE INDICTED

ON FEDERAL OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CHARGE

A federal grand jury in Santa Ana today indicted former congressional

candidate Tan Nguyen on a federal obstruction of justice charge, announced
Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights
Division, and Thomas P. O’Brien, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of
California.
The indictment alleges that Nguyen made misleading statements to
investigators regarding a letter that was sent to Latino voters in the 47th
Congressional District of the State of California prior to the November 2006 federal
elections. At the time the letter was sent, Nguyen was running to represent the
Orange County-based district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The grand jury alleged that Nguyen knowingly misled state investigators
who were investigating the circumstances surrounding the mailing of the letter.
The indictment also alleges that Nguyen’s actions were intended to prevent
communication to federal law enforcement officers of information relating to
Nguyen’s involvement in the production and dissemination of the letter and to
whether the letter violated federal election laws, including interfering with the
federally protected right to vote in federal elections.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent
unless proven guilty.
If convicted, Nguyen faces up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine
and three years of supervised release. Nguyen will receive a summons to appear
in United States District Court in Santa Ana for his initial appearance and
post-indictment arraignment on October 14.
This continuing investigation is being conducted jointly by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. The case is being investigated by Special Agent Julie
McWilliams of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by
Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney James Walsh and Assistant U.S. Attorney
Jennifer Waier of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Release No. 08-133