A Huntington Beach man pleaded not...

A Huntington Beach man pleaded not guilty to federal charges that

he manufactured and trafficked counterfeit Compaq computer parts.

Tony Minh Nguyen, 37, was arraigned Monday in Santa Ana after he

was indicted by a federal grand jury and taken into custody last

week.

Nguyen was in charge of sales and production at Dynasty Memory,

Inc., a Santa Ana-based computer supply company.

Authorities allege that between August and December of 2000,

Nguyen instructed Dynasty employees to buy out-of-date Compaq memory

components. Under Nguyen’s direction, employees would then remove the

Compaq labels and place them on non-Compaq memory components, which

were then sold as genuine Compaq products.

An investigation into the matter began when customers started

returning the memory components to Compaq. When the company learned

that the parts were counterfeit, they contacted the FBI, which

investigated the case and arrested Nguyen.

If he is convicted on both charges, Nguyen could face up to 20

years in federal prison and fines of up to $4 million

Nguyen is currently out on bond. He will return to court Dec. 17

for the beginning of his trial.

-- Jose Paul Corona