OC Security Guard Pleads 'Not Guilty' To Impersonating Fed Agent

LAGUNA WOODS, CA — A security guard at the Laguna Woods retirement community in South Orange County pleaded not guilty Tuesday to impersonating a federal law enforcement agent.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Donovan Pham Nguyen, 34, is charged with one count of false impersonation of a federal officer or employee and could face up to three years in prison upon conviction.

While working for Village Management Services at the Laguna Woods retirement community in the spring of 2019, Nguyen "happened upon" federal agents and talked them into letting him assist with a search warrant based on his claim that he was a federal agent, the document alleges. That is just one instance where his alleged invented persona got him behind closed doors of federal investigations.

According to an affidavit filed with the court, Nguyen pretended for nearly ten years to be a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations and used the false title to obtain things of value.

Nguyen never worked for Homeland Security Investigations, although he previously was a privately contracted security guard at a Department of Homeland Security facility. In 2015, he left that position after an internal investigation alleging he printed fake federal identification documents, according to the court papers.

Nguyen wore Homeland Security tactical uniforms and other types of agent uniforms while participating in law enforcement activities such as executing a search warrant, prosecutors allege.

On June 20, Nguyen discussed a "potential investigation" with a Riverside County District Attorney's Office investigator after being introduced by a "mutual friend." Pham later said his supervisor nixed the assistance, according to the affidavit.

Investigators contend that he used a false Homeland Security ID to purchase weapons, which allowed him to avoid taking and paying for specific firearm safety courses required by California law. He used his father's home in Riverside as the address to acquire 42 guns.
According to federal prosecutors, Nguyen also got paid time off from work with claims of duties with the federal agency.

Nguyen came under scrutiny in June when Riverside County prosecutors looked into federal databases and could not confirm his claim he worked for Homeland Security.

Nguyen made claims of working for the federal agency in his LinkedIn profile. In one photo, he wore a lapel pin from Homeland security, according to prosecutors, who said Nguyen was the listed owner of a private security company, Vigilantz, which has offices in Irvine and Riverside.

Pham installed lights and sirens installed on his Toyota Tacoma and allegedly told his co-workers, including retired Santa Ana police Chief Carlos Rojas, that he did an interview purporting to be an ICE agent on YouTube, court papers show.

Several other former police officers who worked for the security firm said Nguyen boasted of being an agent often and would even pat them down for weapons, court papers allege. One allegedly said he was uncomfortable with Nguyen wearing a gun at work because it was not authorized.

Following Pham's arraignment in Riverside, his trial will take place in Los Angeles federal court with a tentative start date of Oct. 20.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.