Tran Thi Muoi Bay, 50, is facing trial at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court on 28/4 for fraudulent appropriation of property and using forged documents of an agency or organization.
The indictment states that at the time of the alleged offenses, Bay was working at the Binh Duong Provincial Red Cross. She is accused of leveraging her personal reputation and professional position to gain the trust of victims and associates, ultimately to appropriate funds.
In August 2018, Bay approached Ms. Tam to borrow money, citing a need to settle debts and cover personal expenses. As Bay had not repaid previous loans, Ms. Tam demanded collateral for any new borrowing.
Lacking assets, Bay devised a scheme to defraud. She learned that Mr. Quan owned two plots of land in Binh Duong (now Ho Chi Minh City) that he intended to sell. Bay told him she needed to borrow the original land use rights certificates to show potential buyers. Trusting her, Mr. Quan provided the documents.
Bay then contacted an individual via social media to forge two land title certificates for one million dong. She subsequently returned the genuine documents to Mr. Quan to prevent suspicion.
Following this, Bay forged a power of attorney agreement and a land sale contract, signing her own name, falsifying signatures, and adding fake fingerprints to complete the fraudulent paperwork. Using these forged documents, Bay falsely informed Ms. Tam that she was in the process of purchasing land and urgently required a loan.
Believing Bay's story, Ms. Tam lent her a total of 520 million dong over three transactions, accepting the two forged land title certificates as collateral. Bay used the funds for personal debt repayment and expenses, making no effort to repay Ms. Tam.
When the debt became due and Bay failed to repay it, both parties drafted a notarized record confirming the total amount owed, including prior loans, had reached 1.45 billion dong. Despite a court judgment ordering her to repay over 1.55 billion dong, Bay absconded and was subsequently reported by her creditor.
During the investigation, Bay admitted to all charges, stating she no longer possessed assets to compensate for the damages.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy, Bay's actions are exceptionally serious. They not only infringed upon property rights but also eroded public trust, particularly given her former position within a humanitarian organization.
Hai Duyen
