On September 7, the Investigation Department of Phu Tho Provincial Police announced they had initiated legal proceedings against Dang Ngoc Thach, 34 years old, Hoang Van Nha, Hoang Tuan Vu, 22 years old, Hoang Quoc Cuong, 25 years old, Hoang Thi Bich Ngoc, 25 years old, and Truong Viet Nguyen, 22 years old, for fraudulent appropriation of property.

According to the police, Thach and Nguyen were the two ringleaders who organized the network. To avoid detection by the police, they went to Khammuane province, Laos, where they rented a location and set up their system. Each individual directly managed and operated a separate group, coordinating with each other.

In Laos, the group created fake fanpages and Facebook accounts to conduct livestreams.

Vietnamese police and military, in coordination with Khammuane provincial police in Laos, handed over evidence. *Photo: Police provided*.

Police identified "Ve So Dai Loc 999" and "Ve So Kien Thiet 86" as two of the fanpages frequently used to livestream the sale of winning scratch-off tickets. To lure victims, they used numerous fake social media accounts and unauthorized bank accounts to stage fake winning scenarios and fraudulent transfer transactions.

During livestreams, the group constantly promoted "combos", "lucky scratch cards", and recruited agents to build trust and entice people to participate. When participants transferred money to purchase scratch-off ticket packages or paid additional funds to claim prizes, the group would not fulfill their promises, instead appropriating the money.

The fraudulently obtained money was transferred through multiple bank accounts and e-wallets to conceal its origin, complicating verification and tracing efforts. Initially, police determined that this network had defrauded hundreds of victims nationwide of billions of dong.

Fraudulent advertisements. *Photo: Police provided*.