On 24/9, the An Giang Provincial People's Court sentenced Tu to 20 years in prison for fraud and ordered her to repay the entire embezzled amount to the victims.

Le Thi Cam Tu at the trial on 24/9. Photo: Tien Tam

Le Thi Cam Tu at the trial on 24/9. Photo: Tien Tam

According to the indictment, Tu purchased lottery management software in July 2023 and created a Zalo group to recruit participants.

Due to uncontrolled spending, Tu became unable to pay out winnings and decided to defraud the participants. She bought multiple SIM cards and created fake Zalo accounts to collect lottery payments. Within six months, Tu organized 134 lottery rounds with 169 participants, with stakes ranging from 1 to 20 million VND per share.

Using the fake accounts, Tu collected nearly 2,300 lottery shares, totaling over 72 billion VND. She also misappropriated over 1,000 shares from other participants, worth 26 billion VND.

Tu then announced the lottery's collapse and fled before turning herself in after being reported.

Ngoc Tai - Tien Tam