U.S. Attorney: San Jose man posed as DEA agent to rent home, dole out vigilante justice

San Jose man impersonating a federal drug agent forged credentials, outfitted his truck with lights and sirens, and used the fake persona to bypass credit checks, haggle for lower rents, intimidate rivals and dole out vigilante justice, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Jonathan V. Hoang, 47, was arrested and indicted last week on four federal counts related to the alleged fakery, including possession of a counterfeit seal of an agency of the United States and pretending to be an officer of the United States.

The criminal complaint against Hoang states that the defendant first aroused suspicion when he was evicted from his rental home July 19 after failing to pay several consecutive months. Hoang was able to rent the home in part because of the authority he exuded to the owner in December, particularly the display of his badge and gun. He also presented documents with purported Drug Enforcement Agency letterhead that verified his employment and stated that the agency already ran a credit check on him. Because of Hoang's apparent law-enforcement service, the owner agreed to a lower monthly rent.

"The badges and credentials were not exactly accurate," according to a federal affidavit, "but nevertheless closely resembled real DEA badges and credentials."
After Hoang was evicted, authorities say he wavered about arranging to pick up his belongings from the home.

When he asked the owner to meet him later that night, that request  Officers and agents went to the home and interviewed Hoang, who prosecutors say then admitted to the fraud. The criminal complaint states that Hoang said he had the fake DEA paraphernalia because he played an agent in his teenage son's home movies, and that he unsuccessfully applied to the agency in 1986.made the owner feel uneasy. When Hoang's truck was spotted at the home that afternoon, several hours before the meeting time, the owner called San Jose police who in turn contacted the DEA.

Also according to prosecutors, Hoang admitted that over the past several years he used the fraud to "enforce" justice. He once owned a black Crown Victoria -- and installed lights and sirens bought from the Internet onto his pickup truck -- and would slow down traffic on Interstate 680 between Fremont and San Jose, and in one instance followed home a driver he suspected of being drunk.
Hoang also wore his "badge" and gun -- a .45 caliber handgun -- in public, but he told officers that in accordance with open-carry laws, he did not wear it loaded. Still, he used the appearance of authority to intimidate a child he said bullied his son and to scare away his girlfriend's ex-husband.

To keep the ruse going, authorities said Hoang even set up a phone number with a voice directory where a caller convincingly thought he or she was being routed to a DEA agent -- only to be given a voice message saying he was out of the office.

The charges against Hoang carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a half million dollars in fines.