On 29/1, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Le Minh Dung, 34, residing in Dong Tien commune, Thanh Hoa province, to 15 years in prison for fraudulent appropriation of property, under Article 174 of the Penal Code.

During the trial, Dung expressed remorse and requested a reduced sentence. His family compensated the victims with nearly 300 million VND, leading the victims to submit petitions for leniency.

The trial panel deemed Dung's actions a danger to society, requiring strict punishment.

Dung at the court. Photo: Hung Le

According to the indictment, in 2023, while working at a casino in Cambodia, Dung sought additional income for personal expenses. He took on a second job as a manager and translator for a company that specialized in impersonating Vietnamese state agencies to conduct phone scams, earning 1,000 USD per month.

The scam operation, led by a Taiwanese boss, was structured in multiple layers. One section handled making initial calls to victims, while another impersonated investigators, demanding victims transfer money.

Within this structure, Dung visited the company daily for several hours to monitor employee activities, document situations, and report any issues to his boss.

Prosecutors alleged that despite not directly contacting victims or executing the scams himself, Dung was fully aware of the company's criminal nature. He actively assisted his boss and accomplices in appropriating billions of VND from numerous victims across the country. Dung's total illicit gains from the operation, spanning from 11/2023 to 1/2024, amounted to over 73 million VND.

Duc Hung