Bi cao Le Van Tan tai phien toa. Anh: An Binh

On 17/9, the People's Court of Can Tho City sentenced Tan, 29, from Dong Thap, to 12 years in prison for fraudulent appropriation of property, under Article 174 of the Penal Code. He must also compensate victims over 1.2 billion VND.

According to the indictment, Tan previously traded rice in Dong Thap and neighboring provinces but incurred losses and accumulated debt. Needing money, he conceived a plan to defraud former business acquaintances.

On 30/10/2024, Tan, using the alias Lam, contacted Mr. Tran Thanh Minh to order two barges of 5451-type paddy, totaling over 346 tons, valued at more than 2.4 billion VND. He promised immediate payment upon delivery.

Simultaneously, still under the fake name, Tan offered to sell this same paddy to two purchasing businesses in Can Tho City, requesting a 70% advance payment.

After both parties agreed, Tan instructed Mr. Minh to deliver the paddy directly to the two businesses. He also obtained the barge owner's phone number to monitor delivery. Once the paddy was delivered, Tan urged the businesses to transfer the advance payment.

The two businesses subsequently transferred a total of 1.8 billion VND into two accounts specified by Tan. Upon receiving the money, he ceased all communication.

Unable to contact "Lam" for payment, Mr. Minh reached out to the two purchasing businesses and discovered the fraud. He requested they temporarily halt payment of the remaining amount and reported the incident to the police.

Following his arrest, Tan confessed to a prior similar scheme, defrauding another business partner of nearly 30 tons of rice and appropriating 200 million VND.

Tan's relatives have since paid over one billion VND in restitution.

An Binh