CALIFORNIA
National Catholic Reporter
Monica Clark | Apr. 22, 2015 NCR Today
Msgr. Hien Minh Nguyen of the diocese of San Jose, Calif., was arrested April 18 in Florida on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud. He was on a personal leave of absence from ministry at the time of his arrest.
The 55-year-old priest appeared in a Fort Lauderdale court on Monday to face 14 charges of bank fraud and four counts of tax evasion. The San Jose Mercury News reported that the priest is expected to eventually face the charges in San Francisco federal court, where a grand jury indicted him earlier this month. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison.
The indictment alleges that between 2005 and 2008, Nguyen deposited at least 14 checks, made out to the Vietnamese Catholic Center and totaling $19,000, directly into his personal account. He is also accused of failing to report $1.1 million of income to the IRS between 2008 and 2011.
San Jose Bishop Patrick McGrath said on Monday that this was the first time, to his knowledge, that an allegation of this nature has been made against a priest in the diocese, which was founded in 1981.
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