On 21/7, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court sentenced 21-year-old Linh to life imprisonment for fraud and property appropriation, as per Article 174 of the Penal Code.
Accomplices Vi Thi Le (22), Luong Van Hien (23), Loc Van Tao (23), and Kha Van Uc (22) received sentences ranging from 9 to 19 years for the same crime.
The court ordered the defendants to compensate the victim for the entire amount defrauded.
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The 5 defendants in court, 21/7. Photo: Hung Le |
The 5 defendants in court, 21/7. Photo: Hung Le
In court, the 5 defendants expressed remorse, stating their greed motivated the crime and requesting leniency to return home and atone for their mistakes. The judging council deemed their actions severe, violating the victim's property rights and disrupting social order, necessitating strict penalties.
The indictment details that between September 2023 and mid-June 2024, Linh and 4 accomplices crossed the border into the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo Province, Laos. There, they joined a fraud ring operated by Chinese individuals.
Linh’s group was trained to use prepared scripts, divided into teams, and provided with phones and computers to target victims via social media. Daily, they created multiple Facebook and Zalo accounts, impersonating successful single women. They posted glamorous photos and content promoting wealth through a cryptocurrency investment app called "Biconomynft." This platform was created and manipulated by the Chinese ringleaders.
Once victims showed interest, Linh’s group lured them into investing with promises of high returns. Initially, they transferred small profits to build trust, encouraging further investment for supposedly higher gains. When sufficient funds were deposited, the system would freeze the account, requiring victims to pay additional fees for account reactivation, withdrawals, and income tax. These payments only led to further losses.
Using this tactic, the 5 defendants created a fake Facebook account with a beautiful woman’s profile picture. They took turns chatting with a 68-year-old man, enticing him to join the Biconomynft platform, and then proceeded to defraud him of over 19 billion VND. Linh was identified as the mastermind, with the others acting as accomplices.
Duc Hung
