Le Truong Tho, 34, has been indicted by the Hanoi People's Procuracy on charges of fraud and embezzlement, according to articles 174 and 175 of the penal code. Tho had a previous 28-month prison sentence in 2020 for drug trafficking, which has not yet been expunged from his record.
After his release, in 2022, Tho was hired by the owners of a jewelry store in the former Ha Dong district, with a monthly salary of 7 million VND. His job was to deliver gold and foreign currency to customers.
The indictment alleges that, exploiting his employers' trust, Tho embezzled 2 billion VND. On the afternoon of 4/6/2024, a customer contacted the store to purchase 170,000 USD. The owner agreed on a selling price of over 4.37 billion VND (25,750 VND/USD), with the transaction to take place at the customer's home in Mo Lao Urban Area.
While waiting for the customer to count the money, Tho began playing online Baccarat on his phone, losing 410 million VND from his bank account. After receiving the full 170,000 USD, the customer transferred 4.37 billion VND to Tho's account.
The indictment states that Tho then decided to embezzle the funds, transferring 1 billion VND to eight different accounts for gambling. Upon returning to his employer, Tho lied, claiming his account was frozen with 2 billion VND pending, and he could only transfer 2.3 billion VND at that time. The owner agreed and instructed him to transfer the 2.3 billion VND to his son's account.
With 1 billion VND still remaining after the transfer, Tho continued gambling online, losing it all. To keep playing, Tho then scammed the store's female owner. That evening, he called her, falsely claiming another customer urgently needed to sell 40,000 USD at a price of 25,670 VND/USD. Trusting him, she agreed and transferred over 1 billion VND to Tho's account. Tho promptly gambled this money away as well.
Having lost 3 billion VND in a single day, Tho confessed to his employers the next day, admitting he had no money to repay them.
On 10/6/2024, the victims filed a complaint with the police. Three days later, Tho turned himself in.
During the investigation, Tho confessed to starting his online gambling habit earlier in 2024. He admitted that the accounts he used to transfer the money were provided by the gambling website and required deposits.
The individuals whose names were on these accounts claimed they did not gamble online, did not know Tho, and were not involved in the scam. Consequently, investigators did not charge them but recommended administrative penalties from local authorities.
According to the Law on Personal Data Protection, effective from 1/1/2026, using another person's personal data, or allowing others to use one's own personal data for illegal activities, is prohibited. Buying, selling, or allowing others to use bank accounts for criminal purposes can result in administrative penalties or criminal prosecution.
Hai Thu
