After a four-day trial, the Lam Dong Province People's Court sentenced Lai, a resident of Ham My commune, to life imprisonment on 19/9 for fraud. She was also ordered to repay the entire amount to over 200 victims.
The court deemed Lai’s actions not only a violation of property rights but also a disruption of local order and security, causing significant financial hardship for many farming families, workers, and small business owners.
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Defendant Le Thi Lai at the court on 19/9. Photo: Tu Huynh |
Defendant Le Thi Lai at the court on 19/9. Photo: Tu Huynh
According to the indictment, Lai began organizing ROSCAs 20 years ago. Initially operating legitimately, the ROSCAs gained the trust of many participants. However, from 2017 onwards, Lai launched multiple ROSCAs concurrently, losing the ability to balance payments and resorting to a Ponzi scheme.
To maintain the scheme, in November 2020, Lai falsely claimed to have established a ROSCA with 947 participants and over 19,000 shares. She advertised shares for resale at 10 million VND (approximately $420 USD) each.
Believing her claims, 295 individuals purchased a total of 15,671 shares, amounting to over 156.7 billion VND (approximately $6.6 million USD). Lai used a portion of the funds to pay interest to conceal her fraudulent activities, while the remainder went towards personal debts. By early 2021, unable to make further payments, she absconded, leading to victims filing complaints.
Investigators determined that Lai had defrauded 203 individuals of nearly 117 billion VND (approximately $4.9 million USD), most of whom resided in Ham Thuan Nam, Ham Thuan Bac, Phan Thiet City, and La Gi Town.
Tu Huynh
