Huong, 37, has been known for years on social media as a "queen" of second-hand luxury goods through her account "Hycloset new things by hy". However, behind her "closing billion-dong deals" for everything from Hermes handbags to diamond-studded watches, lay an unregistered business system that failed to declare over 835 billion dong in revenue.

Huong's violations were detailed in a recently issued indictment by the Hanoi People's Procuracy, which is prosecuting her for tax evasion. Facing the same charge are two individuals who supplied goods to Huong: Ngo Quoc Phu, 30, and To Lan Phuong, 45. All three defendants are freelance workers.

According to the indictment, from 2020 until discovered by tax authorities in 6/2025, Huong engaged in selling used goods including handbags, watches, diamonds, clothing, and accessories. Huong’s products featured world-renowned brands such as: Versace, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Hermes.

Huong advertised and sold these goods on a Facebook social media account she created, named "Hycloset new things by hy". During her operations, Huong did not register her business or account with tax authorities. The defendant used her personal bank account and her husband's account to receive payments.

To manage her sales, Huong hired eight employees and organized them into different teams responsible for tasks such as: responding to customer messages, processing orders, assisting with packaging, inventory checks, "closing deals", data entry, and shipping. To track sales revenue, Huong used her personal information to register a sales account on the Kiot Viet software.

Police reading the temporary detention order for Huong in 7/2025. *Photo: Hanoi Police*

Huong's "freelance" business operated for five years until her residence was urgently searched by police on 9/7/2025. Data recovered from Huong's laptop revealed that her revenue for the five years from 2020 to 2024 and the six months of 2025 were 9,3 billion dong, 27,6 billion dong, 164,8 billion dong, 272,7 billion dong, 216 billion dong, and 144,4 billion dong, respectively, totaling 835 billion dong.

Huong's failure to declare taxes over five years and six months resulted in a loss of 12,5 billion dong to the state budget. This amount included 8,3 billion dong in value-added tax and 4,1 billion dong in personal income tax, the Procuracy alleged.

At Huong's residence, police seized 17,900 USD, over 12 million dong, one document file of 86 pages concerning assets and real estate, along with numerous items and goods such as handbags and accessories. Huong's husband has since deposited 12,2 billion dong to mitigate the consequences for his wife.

Upon her arrest, Huong stated that she had regularly sold luxury goods on Facebook since 2020. The items were bought from individuals who no longer needed them, then resold to other interested customers. She admitted that her revenue from 2020 until now amounted to over 800 billion dong, but she did not declare or report it for tax payment. To manage and track her revenue, she registered a sales account on Kiot Viet.

In 6/2025, when tax authorities uncovered and handled numerous tax evasion cases, Huong asked someone to delete all data on the Kiot Viet sales software. Before deletion, the data on Kiot Viet was saved by the defendant on her personal computer. The stored data detailed: the code for each item, the price of each item, the quantity sold, and monthly and annual revenue.

Luxury goods displayed during one of Huong's sales sessions. *Photo: Hycloset*

Furthermore, based on bank statements from the accounts Huong used to receive and make payments for sales, authorities also identified tax evasion by Phu and Phuong.

The Procuracy determined that from 2021 until now, Phu purchased used luxury goods such as: clothing, footwear, and handbags from many people on social media, then resold them to Huong. To facilitate sales and conceal his identity and revenue, Phu used a Facebook account named after his daughter to post advertisements. Phu sold goods to Huong multiple times, totaling over 28,8 billion dong, without declaring taxes.

Similarly, defendant Phuong also sold goods to Huong totaling 10,5 billion dong without registering for taxes. As a result, the Procuracy alleged that Phu evaded 433 million dong in taxes, and Phuong evaded 157 million dong. Both defendants have voluntarily surrendered these amounts to the police to mitigate the consequences.