On 16/7, Le Van Chien, a 53-year-old resident of Truong Vinh ward, was prosecuted by Nghe An Provincial Police for forging seals and documents of agencies and organizations, under Article 341 of the Criminal Code.

Suspect Chien at the investigative agency. *Photo: Hoa Vang*

Investigations revealed that Chien leveraged his photocopy and printing business, which also handled design consulting and construction management, to forge a variety of documents. These included university diplomas, citizen identification cards, and notarized copies of various papers. Authorities allege that Chien utilized editing software to create templates for seals and signatures. He then used color inkjet printers and thermal printers to produce the fake documents, selling them to clients.

Each forged document earned Chien a profit of 1-1,5 million dong.

Following a period of surveillance, the Investigation Security Department apprehended Chien in mid-july. Searches of his home and workplace uncovered a significant cache of evidence: over 1,000 suspected fake documents and seals, four computer CPUs, two color printers, a thermal press, and other related exhibits.

During interrogation, Chien confessed that he began forging documents for profit after noticing a high demand for them. He taught himself the forgery techniques, sourcing templates for seals and documents from social media. Additionally, he saved copies of diplomas and certificates from customers using his photocopy and printing services, later repurposing these as models for his illicit activities.

Duc Hung