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Date: Oct. 26, 2026
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Huntington, WV – Hang Kim Thi Ngo of Windermere, Florida, pleaded guilty today to identity theft and money laundering. Ngo admitted to conducting a fraudulent multi-state nail technician licensing scheme that relied on West Virginia licenses and amassed $9,110,920.84 in illegal proceeds.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from October 2020 through September 2025, Ngo obtained an array of fraudulent documents that allowed unqualified applicants to become licensed as nail technicians in West Virginia and other states. Ngo charged a fee based on which falsified documents were needed and used an applicant’s Social Security number and driver’s license information to obtain them. Ngo mostly dealt with middlemen, usually employers, and rarely interacted directly with individual applicants. The middlemen commonly paid Ngo and required the applicant to work off the debt in their nail salons.
Obtaining a West Virginia nail technician license was central to Ngo’s scheme. The state has among the most stringent regulations in the country, requiring a high school diploma or GED, a diploma from an accredited beauty school, and a medical evaluation certificate issued by a licensed physician. These requirements make a West Virginia license more valuable to applicants, as it eases the process of obtaining licenses in other states through reciprocity. Ngo charged a higher fee for West Virginia licensure applicants, including $3,500 for the “full package” of required documents.
Ngo obtained the fraudulent beauty school diplomas and transcripts from real Florida beauty schools she knew would provide falsified records for a fee. The falsely certified school records allowed Ngo to apply for a Florida nail technician license on behalf of an applicant. Once she obtained a Florida license, Ngo used it to prepare a West Virginia nail technician license application through reciprocity in the applicant’s name. Co-conspirators provided a false medical evaluation certificate when an applicant did not want to obtain the required medical exam. Ngo’s accountant, a notary public, provided false notary acknowledgments for a fee when documents required notarization including state license applications.
Ngo received $9,110,920.84 from the fraud scheme, which was her sole source of revenue as she had no legitimate employment. Ngo used the illegal proceeds to finance the purchase of a $3,200,000 commercial building in Winchester, Virginia, paying a $640,000 cash down payment. Ngo also purchased her Windermere, Florida, home for $1,950,000, one home in Orlando for $695,000 with a $139,00 cash down payment, and another Orlando home for $636,000 with a $127,000 cash down payment all with the fraud proceeds.
As part of her guilty plea, Ngo provided a specific example from her scheme. A West Virginia nail salon owner contacted her to obtain a West Virginia nail technician license for an applicant. Using the applicant’s Social Security number and driver’s license information, Ngo obtained the necessary falsified documents, had her accountant fraudulently notarize them, and mailed the resulting application from her Florida residence to the West Virginia Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists on Oct. 12, 2022. Ngo received the West Virginia license in the mail and mailed it to the Ceredo client after receiving payment.
Ngo further admitted that she laundered $20,000 from her fraud scheme by writing her husband a check from CEJ Trading LLC, a consulting business she created as a front for her scheme on or about Oct. 7, 2022. The $20,000 check was deposited in their shared savings account. Ngo admitted there was no legitimate business purpose for making the check payable to her husband.
Ngo is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22, 2027, and faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $750,000. Ngo must also forfeit $9,110,920.84 in assets.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case.
IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.