In a shocking case of alleged financial exploitation, a 68-year-old widow claims her life savings were stolen by someone she trusted. On May 6, 2025, Elaura Y. Wen filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, against Tam T. Tran and several others for multiple charges including financial elder abuse and identity theft.
Elaura Y. Wen alleges that Tam T. Tran, who worked as a bank employee at First Tech Credit Union, used her position to steal from Wen's account and fraudulently obtain a mortgage on Wen's fully paid-off home in Milpitas, California. According to the complaint, Tran befriended Wen under the guise of being her personal financial advisor and then proceeded to exploit this trust by stealing over $2 million from Wen between June 2018 and September 2023. The complaint states that Tran manipulated bank records and even set up fake email accounts to prevent Wen from receiving notifications about her account activities.
The lawsuit further accuses Tran of colluding with family members and other individuals named as defendants—John Tran, William Tran, Hiep Nguyen, Jose Acosta—and entities like Loancutters Inc., Evoque Lending, and Provident Trust Group LLC among others. These parties are collectively referred to as "Fraud Defendants" or "Lending Defendants" in the lawsuit. The defendants allegedly facilitated a fraudulent loan process where a $684,000 high-interest loan was secured against Wen’s home without her knowledge or consent.
Wen is seeking compensatory damages for the alleged thefts and emotional distress caused by these actions. She is also asking for punitive damages due to what she describes as malicious conduct by the defendants. Additionally, she seeks judicial declarations to void any liens placed on her property through fraudulent means and an injunction to prevent foreclosure proceedings initiated based on these fraudulent loans.
Representing Elaura Y. Wen are attorneys Arasto Farsad and Nancy Weng from Farsad Law Office P.C., located in San Jose, California. The case is presided over by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers under Case ID 25CV465285.