Published November 4 2015
Tip from prosecutor leads to arrests, recovered stolen property
Detectives from the Bellevue Police Special Enforcement Team on Tuesday arrested two individuals suspected in a string of crimes throughout the region. County prosecutors say they will charge Somaly Sen with first-degree identity theft and Hong Phuc Giap with second-degree identity theft and possession of stolen property today.
Last week a prosecutor with the King County Economic Crimes Unit asked the Bellevue Police to help locate Sen after she stopped attending a court-ordered alternative to detention program, and failed to appear in court on three pending cases on multiple charges of identity theft. Sen was on probation for a crime spree in Bellevue and had three felony arrest warrants. The prosecutor suspected her to be involved in criminal activity.
Undercover detectives began a surveillance of Sen on Tuesday, and arrested her when she was riding in a car in Des Moines that day.
The driver of the car was identified as Giap, a career criminal. Giap was arrested for driving with a suspended license, and a credit card stolen in a Bellevue burglary was found in his pocket. Giap also had a commercial check stolen from a Seattle business in his pocket and Oxycodone tablets concealed in his sock.
Sen had a diamond ring in her pocket and a receipt from the Covington Costco for the $2,100 ring. Detectives were able to obtain surveillance video of Sen opening a fraudulent account under another individual's name at Costco on Monday and immediately purchasing the ring.
Sen then allegedly traveled to the Federal Way Costco, where detectives say she presented a counterfeit driver's license and attempted to fraudulently make a second purchase, this time for $7,100. Sen ran from the store after Costco Loss Prevention contacted her to question her about the suspicious transaction. Detectives have since returned the ring they recovered from Sen to its rightful owner.