Judge sentences identity thief to 7 years

Clad in the classic khakis and polo shirt worn by engineers across Silicon Valley, the 42-year-old transient blended in so well with tech workers that he was able to slip through the door of nine local companies and steal employees’ wallets.

Doanh Dinh Tran, 42, would then rush to Apple or Target, and quickly charge laptops and iPads on the victims’ credit cards before they had time to cancel them, Santa Clara prosecutor Jennifer Deng said Thursday. Over a fourmonth period ending in August, he was able to steal more than $10,000, she said.

Although the booty was relatively small, especially for Silicon Valley, Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya sentenced him Thursday to seven years in prison for second-degree burglary and identity theft.

“ID theft is a serious crime,” Deng said. “We are pleased that he is being held accountable.”

Tran’s criminal record was a factor in his sentence. He had done two stints in prison for the same crime, Deng said. She didn’t know if he targeted any of the same companies, she said.

Tran purposely targeted Silicon Valley, coming here periodically from Texas, Deng said. But he didn’t factor in the companies’ surveillance systems, which caught him on video. Sunnyvale police discovered his identity because they’d investigated similar crimes he’d committed in 2005 and 2008.